Boone County Sheriff's Office, Indiana
End of Watch: Thursday, February 7, 1935
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: 1 month, 1 week
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Date of Incident: February 7, 1935
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Sheriff John Peper was killed in an automobile crash on U.S. 52, near Lebanon, as he and a deputy responded to the scene of another accident.
Their vehicle went out of control on the sleet-covered roadway and flipped over. Sheriff Peper suffered fatal injuries when he was thrown into the back seat.
Sheriff Peper had served with the Boone County Sheriff's Office for only five weeks. He was survived by his wife, who was appointed as sheriff to serve the remainder of her husband's term. She was the first female sheriff of Boone County and the third female to serve as a sheriff in the state of Indiana.
In 2010, U.S. 52, four miles north of Lebanon in Boone County, was dedicated the Sheriff John H. Peper Highway in his honor.