Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Age: 46
Tour of Duty: 16 years, 6 months
Badge Number: 5684
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: January 7, 2003
Weapon Used: Person
Suspect Info: Apprehended
Police Officer Anthony Johnson suffered a fatal heart attack after struggling with a suspect at Overbrook High School at about 1700 hours.
Officer Johnson, who volunteered as a part-time basketball coach, was in the gym for team photographs when a student came in and created a disturbance. The student refused to leave, and as Officer Johnson escorted him out of the gym, the boy took a swing at him and started to struggle. During the struggle, Officer Johnson was able to get handcuffs on the suspect before collapsing.
After Officer Johnson collapsed the handcuffed suspect fled as bystanders came to his aid. He was transported to Lankenau Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The suspect was apprehended shortly after 9:00 pm and charged with assaulting a police officer.
Officer Johnson had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 16-1/2 and was assigned to the Southwest Detective Dvision.