Patrolman Johnathan P. Flora - Anchorage Police Dept. - True Life Hero

Johnathan P. Flora
- Sep. 08, 1975 -

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Anchorage Police Dept. Patch

Resided:	Anchorage AK, USA
Born:	Sep. 19, 1942
Fallen:	Sep. 08, 1975
Race/Sex:	Caucasian Male / 32 yrs. of age
	Agency
Dept:	Anchorage Police Dept. 4501 Elmore Rd Anchorage, AK 99507 USA (907)786-8500
County:	Anchorage
Dept. Type:	Municipal/Police
Hero's Rank:	Patrolman
Sworn Date:	6/1972
FBI Class:	Homicide - Gun
Weapon Class:	Firearm
Agency URL:	Click Here

Bio: Johnathan Paul Flora, 32, was born on Sept. 19, 1942, in Mabank, TX (between Dallas and Athens), to Edgar and Naomi Flora. He was one of four children (Eddie Carl, Beckie Fay, Johnathan Paul, and Daniel Anthony).

Johnathan's parents divorced when he was 8 and he and his younger brother, Daniel Anthony, moved to Tyler, TX, in 1954 to live with his father and step-mother, Judy McMillan Flora, who had two children (Royce Wayne McMillan, 7, and Martha Kay McMillan, 4) from a previous marriage. Edgar and Judy Flora also had a son, James Stanley Flora, born in 1958, and the five children were raised together. The family moved from Tyler to Dallas when Johnny was 14 and he attended Woodrow Wilson H.S. for a year before the family moved to Mesquite in 1958. "Johnny" Flora graduated from Mesquite H.S. in 1961. He was quite popular in H.S. being voted "Junior Favorite" and "All School Favorite" (Sr. year) as indicated by full page photos in the H.S. yearbook. He was class president of his junior and senior classes. Johnathan Flora was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1963, went through basic training at Ft. Polk, LA, and was stationed for a short time at Ft. Sill OK before being sent to VietNam. He served in combat in VietNam as Sp/4 Johnathan P. Flora, U.S. 54349321, of the Headquarters Battery, 6th Battalion, 14th Artillery. He was discharged from the Army in 1965. Upon his discharge from the Army, Flora joined the Mesquite Police Dept. and graduated from the Dallas Police Academy in 1966. He served as a Mesquite police officer for one year (1966) and also was a fireman in Richardson, TX (both are suburbs of Dallas) from 1969-1970.

Johnathan Flora, 26, married Brenda Redstone, 18, of Mesquite in 1967 and the newly-weds moved to AK the same year. Flora joined the Anchorage Police Dept. in May of 1967 but resigned in July of 1968 to return to college in TX. He attended North TX State College in Denton, TX, from 1968-1972 and received a degree in accounting. He also learned one thing from college---that he wanted to go back into police work. He and Brenda returned to Anchorage after his graduation at the end of the spring semester in 1972.

Though the Anchorage Police Dept.'s policy was not to rehire people who left the Dept., John was rehired in June of 1972 "because he had been such an outstanding officer." He was "officer of the month" in Jan. of 1974 and was eventually made a training officer. For a year in 1973 Flora worked in community relations working closely with the public and the media. For example, he worked with the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce on its shoplifting campaign. In fact, it was while he was a community relations officer in 1973 that he met, Donald Morgan, the man who eventually killed him. Flora was part of a team of officers assigned to contact known drug addicts and try to get them to seek treatment. He filed a police report indicating that he interviewed Morgan who denied that he used drugs and thus refused to seek treatment.

Flora became the officer most often asked to speak to community groups about police work. Flora seemed to charm others with his "TX drawl" and his "soft-spoken voice" which was often heard on the radio reporting on A.P.D. activities.

However, Flora soon tired of his "desk job" and requested a transfer to the midnight shift "for more excitement." He was on the midnight shift when he was killed and was a 4-year veteran of the Dept. at the time of his death. His wife, Brenda, a telephone operator for the city of Anchorage, knew the risks of the night shift but refused to discourage her husband from returning to the work he loved best.

Survived by:

Brenda Flora - Wife

his father, Edgar Flora, and step-mother, Judy McMillian Flora, of Dallas; his mother, Mrs. Pelton (Naomi) Roe, of Dallas; his two brothers, Eddie Carl Flora of Dallas and Daniel Anthony Flora of Anchorage, AK; his sister, Beckie Fay Flora of Denver, CO; his half-brothers Pelton Roe, Jr., of Dallas, James Stanley Flora of Dallas, and Royce Wayne McMillan of Tyler; and his half-sisters, Astraletta Roe of Dallas and Martha Kay McMillan of Mesquite.

Fatal Incident Summary

Offender:	Donald A. Morgan

Location:	Anchorage, AK USA Mon. Sep. 08, 1975
Summary:	Anchorage Officer Johnathan P. Flora, 32, was shot and killed by a burglar on Sept. 8, 1975. His assailant was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Around 2:00AM on Monday, Sept. 8, 1975, a security employee of AK General Alarm heard what appeared to be an attempted entry into a building located at 403 West 8th Ave. in Anchorage. The Anchorage Police Dept. was notified, and at 2:16AM several officers were dispatched to that address (the Anchorage Drug Treatment Center, a methadon clinic for heroin addicts). Officer Flora and three other A.P.D. officers responded to the address. Flora and another officer went around to the west side of the building while the other two officers covered the main door. After checking one window, Flora went to another where the glass had been broken. "He shown his flashlight through the window, and seeing nothing began to climb into the room over the sill. He was hit in the head by a shot fired from a 9mm automatic pistol fired from inside." The shot "propelled him backwards away from the building" and he "landed on his back." Officer Ed Hofkins went to Flora's aid and found him bleeding from the head and mouth. Flora was rushed to Anchorage Community Hospital but "was declared dead on arrival." Officer Bud Carter talked the suspect into throwing his gun out the window and surrendering. The "shooter" was identified as Donald A. Morgan, 23. Morgan later admitted to police that he realized the man crawling through the window was a uniformed police officer when he fired at his head.
Disposition:	On Oct. 19, 1976, Judge Van Hoomisen sentenced Morgan, 24, to life in prison and stipulated that he not be eligible for parole for 35 years (until the year 2011 when he would be 59). The normal mandatory minimum was 15 years before parole eligibility but Judge Hoomisen extended the minimum by 20 years because he was a career criminal and his chances for rehabilitation were poor. The three years for the escape were to be served concurrently. In 1998 Donald Andrew Morgan, 45, was still in prison and the Dept. of Corrections listed his parole eligibility date as June 12, 2013.
Source:	Book Excerpted in part or in whole from Dr. Wilbanks book- FORGOTTEN HEROES: POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN ALASKA, 1867-1998 By Dr. Wm. Wilbanks FL International University To be published by Turner Publications in early 1999

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Last Updated: May. 29, 2019