John James Mulligan
Agency patch
Detective

John James Mulligan

Boston Police Department — Roxbury Crossing, MA
Felonious
End of Watch September 26, 1993
Age 52
Tour of Duty 27 yrs
The Vigil Panel 139 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective John Mulligan was shot and killed while working a secondary employment detail. He was shot five times in the face, execution-style, as he sat in his car at a store at 972 American Legion Highway. After shooting Detective Mulligan, the two subjects stole his service weapon and fled. Two suspects were arrested and subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and other related charges in 1995. One of the men had his conviction overturned in 2000 and later plead guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. In September 2006, that subject admitted to his participation in the execution-style killing of Detective Mulligan. The second subject also had his first-degree murder conviction overturned on appeal in 2015. The remaining convictions against the man for possessing the murder weapon and Detective Mulligan's service weapon remained unchanged. Detective Mulligan had served with the Boston Police Department for 27 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his two sons.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

27 years. You could have gone home.
Detective Mulligan gave the Boston Police Department 27 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Roxbury Crossing community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Mulligan.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Roxbury Crossing, Suffolk County, MA
Platform Identity bpd.suffolk.ma.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 26, 1993
Tour of Duty 27 yrs
Age 52
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

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

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
  2. See the roll
Compare against
I

Time

In 1993, 101 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 51st heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

John was 52. 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 27 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

September holds 9.1% 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 handgun, in 23.4% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

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

Across the years
VI

Where

Detective John James Mulligan

Boston Police Department · End of Watch September 26, 1993

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 30-W

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