Suffolk County marks 35 years since Officer John Jantzen’s death

Suffolk County marked 35 years since Officer John Jantzen ran into a Lake Grove restaurant hearing gunfire and screams, a split-second decision that still shapes how his death is remembered inside the department and the PBA.

Jantzen, known as John “Jack” Jantzen, was 32 years old and had served about six years with the Suffolk County Police Department when he was killed on April 21, 1991. He was off-duty and preparing to do painting work at Big Barry’s Restaurant on Route 25 when he heard a shotgun blast and rushed inside at about 5:15 a.m., entering a scene at the corner of Middle Country Road and Stony Brook Road in Lake Grove.

Inside, a man armed with a 12-gauge shotgun was holding his wife and a restaurant employee at gunpoint. Jantzen moved toward the disturbance as the violence was unfolding. The shooter later killed his wife and her co-worker, and the co-worker was able to give responding officers information before dying. Police later apprehended the gunman.

Jantzen’s death remains part of Suffolk County’s law enforcement memory because it captures more than one tragic morning in Lake Grove. It reflects the split-second judgment that officers, on or off duty, are expected to make when danger erupts in a public place. His name continues to appear in police remembrance posts and memorial listings, a sign that his actions were folded into the department’s culture of sacrifice rather than left to fade into history.

The Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association commemorated Jantzen’s life and legacy again on April 24, 2024, saying his courage and selflessness remained a lasting reminder of the dangers faced by law enforcement. That message still resonates in Suffolk, where Big Barry’s Restaurant, the intersection of Middle Country Road and Stony Brook Road, and Jantzen’s end of watch on April 21, 1991 remain tied together in public memory.

Jantzen was survived by his wife and infant son. More than three decades later, his death still stands as a local measure of what police service can demand, and what the county has chosen not to forget.