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Tuesday, 21 January 2020 20:40

Officer Johnny LaGrone

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Officer Johnny LaGrone

Officer Johnny LaGrone

Officer Johnny LaGrone

Accidental Death... Off-Duty Officer Shot and Killed Accidentally June 28, 1984,  Officer Johnny LaGrone, Southwestern District, tragically lost his life due to gunshot wounds he received while off duty on June 28. Officer LaGrone, a 2-year veteran, was in the process of moving from his residence when an 8-year-old child obtained possession of his service revolver and shot him with it. Even though responding officers and Fire Department Medical Technicians did everything possible to aid the stricken officer, he died a short time later at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services.

Reported in the Baltimore Sun
29 June 1984

Officer Is Shot to Death; Boy, 8, Is Questioned

An off-duty Baltimore Police Officer was fatally shot yesterday [28 June 1984] while at a friend’s apartment in Southwest Baltimore, City Police reported.

After an eight – hour search, police located an 8-year-old boy believed by investigators to be the only person in the apartment when Officer Johnny L. LaGrone, Junior, 37, was shot once in the chest, said Officer Arlene Jenkins, a City Police Spokeswoman.

The boy, who was found walking alone on Liberty Heights Avenue in West Baltimore about 11 PM, had been sought since the time of the shooting. He was taken to Police Headquarters for questioning. Officer LaGrone was shot with his service revolver about 2:44 PM while at an apartment in the 2200 block of Tucker Lane, but he was able to call the police to say that he had been injured, Officer Jenkins said.

Officer LaGrone, who joined the force two and a half years earlier, died about 4 PM at the Shock Trauma Unit at University Hospital.

Details of The Shooting Were Sketchy Last Night, But Officer Jenkins Gave This Account:

Shortly after 2:30 PM, a neighbor told police she heard the sound of gunfire, after which a young boy ran from the apartment of the officer’s friend. Also, LaGrone followed the youngster but collapsed in front of the apartment building.

Officer LaGrone’s a service revolver was found in the grass outside the apartment, Officer Jenkins said.

According to investigators, the officers friend – the mother of the boy who ran from the apartment – was at work at the time of the shooting.

The Woman, Contacted by Police, Agreed To Help Locate Her Son.

Officer LaGrone was assigned to the Southwestern District. He had been scheduled to work the 4 PM to midnight shift yesterday, Officer Jenkins said.

In March of the same year, Officer LaGrone, shot and killed a man while off-duty, as the Officer tried to break up a fight on Interstate 95 in the Arbutus section of Baltimore County.

According to Baltimore County police as, Officer LaGrone was on his way home from work he saw several men fighting alongside the highway, the Officer stopped his car and tried to stop the fight. One of the men lunged at the officer with a knife, cutting the patrolman on his left wrist. Then, Officer LaGrone told police, he drew his revolver and fired several warning shots. At this point the knife wielding man kept coming at the officer, who said he fired several shots again which struck the motorist, County police said. Officer LaGrone was not charged in the incident.

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This is the UNOFFICIAL History Site of the Baltimore Police Department. It depicts the history of the department as was originally conceived of, and told by Retired Officer, William M. Hackley. Sadly Officer Hackley passed away on 15 March 2012 leaving his site to Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll. It took a month or so to take full responsibility for the site and its content. The thoughts and use of certain items, terms, sounds, and implications are not necessarily those that would be agreed upon by the Baltimore Police Department, as an official Governmental Agency. Likewise, we do not seek their permission or approval to post the things we post, and as such, nothing in these pages should be held against them.

The intent of this site is more than just to tell our history, to have everyone remember our Injured, and Fallen Heroes, those who in the performance of their duties were called upon to make the Ultimate Sacrifice.

So as you surf these pages, you will see the Baltimore Police Department from its infancy, showing the crude methods of policing in the 1700's, through to the 1800's and become the modern highly efficient department that it has become today.

Enjoy the site for what it is, a rendition of the proud history of one of this country’s finest Police Departments, one for which those of us who have worked it, are proud of, and honored to have served. The many men and women that still proudly serve, and those that someday will serve.

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Any request for official police information should first be made directly to:

Baltimore Police Department
242 W. 29th St., Baltimore, MD.
Emergencies: 9-1-1  Non-emergencies: 410-396-2037
BALTIMORE POLICE Web Site: http://www.baltimorepolice.org 

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Again please contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll if you have pictures of you, your family, or other members of the Baltimore Police Department and wish to see them remembered here on this tribute site. We are anxious to honor the fine men and women who have served this fine police department. Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll can be reached at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Like us on Facebook, or contact us for a mailing address 

Copyright © 2002 Baltimore City Police History - Ret Det Kenny Driscoll

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch June 28, 1984
City, St. 2200 block of Tucker Lane
Panel Number N/A
Cause of Death Gunfire
Weapon - Officer's Handgun
District Worked Southwestern
Read 5058 times Last modified on Wednesday, 22 January 2020 05:14
Published in Fallen Heroes
Baltimore Police Historical Soicety

The Baltimore Police Historical Society put this and other articles on this website together using research from old newspapers, old books, photos, and artifacts.

We rely more heavily on books written at or near the time of the incident we are researching or writing about. We do not put too much weight on the more recently written history books, or books that have been written with a biased opinion or agenda.

We try not to tell our readers what to think about our past as much as we tell a story with hopes of our readers forming their own opinions. That said, ever so often we come across a story that to us is so exciting that we might express that in our writings. but we hope our readers will form their own opinions based on the information written at the time, not information that was added years later using a filtered history that has been twisted and pulled in the direction of various storytellers that may or may not have had their own agendas.

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