Commemorating the Killed

Born: 1889
Occupation: Police Officer
Killed: July 28th, 1919
Cause of death: Bullet Wound

John Simpson, an African American, was born in 1889 in Kentucky. After working as a railroad cook, Simpson moved to Chicago, ultimately living at 3910 S. Calumet Avenue. In Chicago, he found a job as a police officer and worked out of the Wabash Avenue police station. Simpson served in World War One, as a member of the 365^th infantry, and was discharged on March 18^th, 1919. After returning to the Chicago Police Department, Simpson was charged with a prohibition violation and was suspended from the Department. On July 28^th, Simpson was shot by a band of Black men who he was attempting to place under arrest at 31^st Street and Wabash Avenue because the group had been looting stores on S. State Street. The Chicago Commission Report, however, stated, “Simpson was shot by a negro keeper of a poolroom on account of a previous quarrel.” As with many of the killings, the circumstances and details of this confrontation remain uncertain. Simpson died of his gunshot wound at Mercy Hospital on July 28^th at the age of thirty. Simpson was the only police officer killed during the riots. Simpson is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, just south of Chicago.