Chief John Goff was shot and killed after responding to a domestic disturbance call.

Chief Goff was asked by a woman at the residence to help her remove her belongings from the house of a man she was living with after a quarrel. After Chief Goff arrived the right shoulder of his coat was clipped by the bullet of a .30-.30 rifle and Chief Goff returned fire. The next round struck Chief Goff's head and nearly tore the back of his head away. The woman fled to a nearby house where she was killed. The suspect was arrested and committed suicide in jail by slitting his wrists.

Chief Goff served as chief of the Ironton Municipal Police Department and was also sworn as a deputy of the Iron County Sheriff's Department. Before the Ironton Police Department was formed Chief Goff was elected city marshal in 1949, 1951 and 1953. Interred: Glover Baptist Church Cemetery, Glover, MO.