Badge no. 5684
Assignment: Southwest Detective Division

Detective Anthony Johnson, age 46, a 22 year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, died in the line of duty on January 7, 2003 after suffering a fatal heart attack after struggling with a suspect at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia at approx. 5:00 pm. Detective 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 Detective Johnson escorted him out of the gym, the boy took a swing at him and started to struggle with him. During the struggle, Detective Johnson was able to get handcuffs on the suspect before collapsing. After Detective Johnson collapsed, the suspect fled still in handcuffs, as bystanders came to Detective Johnson's aid. Detective Johnson was transported to Lankenau Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The suspect was apprehended shortly after 9:00 p.m. and charged with assaulting a police officer with other charges pending. Detective Johnson had been employed with the Philadelphia Police Department for 22 years and was assigned to the Southwest Detective Division

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Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - January 16, 2003
Deceased Name: Services set for Officer Anthony Johnson
Services will be held Saturday for Anthony Johnson, 46, a Philadelphia police officer who dedicated his life to pointing youths in the right direction.

He died Jan. 7 of a heart attack at Lankenau Hospital after grappling with a night-school student in front of the very group he had been working to help.

Mr. Johnson was stricken as he attempted to make an off-duty arrest of a student at Overbrook High School, where he was pursuing his interest in the future of West Philadelphia children as a volunteer assistant basketball coach.

Mr. Johnson, a 22-year veteran of the force, collapsed while trying to arrest Donald Moore, 19, of the 1700 block of North 53d Street, a part-time student at Overbrook. Moore had been disruptive while a team photograph was being taken in the school gym, police said.

While Mr. Johnson was attempting to escort Moore from the gym, the student turned and threw a punch at the officer, police said. A scuffle ensued, during which Mr. Johnson collapsed. He was rushed to Lankenau, where he died within hours.

Mr. Johnson, who himself was taken under a mentor's wing while growing up in West Philadelphia, tried to guide young people in his job as a police officer as well as when he was at home in West Philadelphia.

As a police officer, he performed graffiti- and youth-related investigations out of Southwest Detectives. When he wasn't in uniform, he was working with young people on a basketball court, coaching PAL teams and at Overbrook, where he played basketball as a student before graduating in 1974.

"He was a very dedicated police officer, but he also was dedicated to youth," said his wife, Cassandra. "He was mentored himself when he was growing up, so he felt obligated to grab hold of the children and point them in the right direction."

Capt. Stephen Glenn, commander of Southwest Detectives, said in an Inquirer interview last Thursday that Mr. Johnson's "first thought wasn't to put somebody in cuffs. He most preferred to give a kid a pat on the back and direct him into productive activity."

Mr. Johnson was good enough to have played basketball on the college level at Lincoln University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1978. His ability on the court got the attention of NBA teams, but an ankle injury was a factor in preventing him from making the giant leap from small-college ball to the professional level.

As a boy, Mr. Johnson played ball at the Haddington Recreation Center. As an adult, he returned to the city's program, working as a recreation leader for the Department of Recreation from 1978 to 1986.

He joined the Police Department in 1986, and for several years in the early 1990s, he served as a District Attorney's Office detective.

Mr. Johnson was a Mason.

In addition to his wife of eight years, he is survived by a brother, Russell; two aunts; two nieces; two nephews; and one great-nephew.

The services will be held at 11 a.m. at Bright Hope Baptist Church, 12th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Friends may call at 8:30 a.m. Burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery in Fernwood, Delaware County.

Contact staff writer Rusty Pray at 215-854-2322 or [email protected]. Anthony Johnson was 46.Edition: CITY-D
Page: B09
Copyright (c) 2003 The Philadelphia Inquirer



Sources:
1. Pennsylvania State FOP Lodge.
2. The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. http://www.odmp.org/officer/16506-detective-anthony-johnson
3. Philadelphia Inquirer