Reserve Deputy Sheriff
John Clifford Stahl III
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
Sunday, June 8, 2025

Age: 67
Served: 15 years
Badge #:
Not Included
Not Included

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Automobile accident
Date/Time of Incident:
Monday, June 7, 2004
10:20 pm
Incident to Death Duration:
21 years, 1 day
Incident Location:
State Road 7 near Madison
Incident County:
Jefferson
Incident Township:
Madison
Weapon Used:
None
Suspect Disposition:
None
Burial Place:
Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Madison
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   Reserve Deputy Sheriff John Stahl was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on State Road 7 northwest of Madison while responding to a call of a suspicious vehicle.

   His patrol vehicle struck and broke a utility pole before it overturned several times, caught on fire and he was pulled to safety by three good Samaritans.

   Reserve Deputy Stahl was transported to University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky with severe chest and head injuries and was in a coma for two months.

   He was later transferred to a rehabilitation hospital with a seizure disorder due to traumatic brain injury.

   He was eventually taken to a transitional care unit, was never able to return to work and passed away on June 8, 2025 at home from a cerebral infarction.

   Reserve Deputy Sheriff Stahl, from Madison, is survived by his wife, Susan (née Rich) and sister Jaylyn (Howard) Wieland.


Military Service


United States Army
Vietnam War
Specialist 4 (SP4) ▪ 1975–1978

Historical Notes
• Reserve Deputy Sheriff Stahl is the first of three Indiana line of duty deaths in 2025.
• He is the second line of duty death of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
• His line of duty death is the third that has originated from Jefferson County.
• Reserve Deputy Sheriff Stahl has the third-longest incident to line of duty death duration in Indiana.
• He is one of four officers with a line of duty death who were certified pilots.
This officer has been approved as an eligible line of duty death by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and will be honored during Police Week 2026.
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Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
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Reserve Deputy Sheriff Stahl III
Reserve Deputy Sheriff John Clifford Stahl III- Jefferson County Sheriff's Department - INLEM.org