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John Victor Young
Agency patch
Sergeant

John Victor Young

San Francisco Police Department — San Francisco, CA
Felonious
United States flag California flag
End of Watch August 29, 1971
Age 51
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
The Vigil Panel 109 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 105

Incident

Sergeant John Young was shot and killed inside the Ingleside District Police Station. While the police station was emptied of officers who had responded to an earlier bombing at another location, two men entered the police station and stuck a 12-gauge shotgun through an opening in the bulletproof glass that separated the waiting area from the rest of the police station. The suspects fired between five and ten shotgun blasts, killing Sergeant Young and wounding a civilian employee of the department. Both gunmen then fled the station house and into a waiting getaway car. Both suspects were later determined to be members of the Black Liberation Army. Seven suspects were eventually apprehended and charged with Sergeant Young's murder. The charges were dropped in 1975 when evidence surfaced that confessions obtained might have been the result of torture. Two of the suspects were charged with the murders of Patrolman Waverly Jones and Patrolman Joseph A. Piagentiai of the New York City Police Department on May 21, 1971. Both were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 1999, Sergeant Young's case was reopened when new forensic evidence surfaced. On January 23, 2007, the original seven suspects were again arrested and charged with murder. On July 5, 2009, charges against four of the suspects were dropped. The two suspects who murdered the two New York police officers were convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter. They were sentenced to the time they served while awaiting trial and were returned to New York. Charges against the last suspect were dropped on August 18, 2011. Sergeant Young had served with the San Francisco Police Department for 22 years. Survivors include his wife. The San Francisco Police Station, Ingleside, is located on Sergeant John V. Young Lane, which is named after Sergeant Young. The Black Liberation Army was a violent, radical group that attempted to fight for independence from the United

Survivors

Survivors include his wife.

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026
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August 2, 2026

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Tributes

22 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Young gave the San Francisco Police Department 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Young.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department San Francisco Police Department
Type Police Department
Location San Francisco, CA
Platform Identity sfpd.sf.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 29, 1971
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
Age 51
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Shotgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

John is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1971, 168 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 18th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

John was 51. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. John had served 22 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

August holds 8.9% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Sundays: 15.2%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was shotgun, in 7% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

San Francisco Police Department has 106 officers remembered here, John among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Sergeant John Victor Young

San Francisco Police Department · End of Watch August 29, 1971

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 15-W

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