Charles E. Barden
Agency patch
Officer

Charles E. Barden

Accident
End of Watch August 24, 1938
Age 34
Tour of Duty 1 mo
The Vigil Panel 75 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Charles Barden was killed in a motorcycle accident while testing out his police motorcycle.

Officer Barden had been experiencing mechanical difficulties with the motorcycle and was told to have it taken to maintenance for repair. He was testing his motorcycle when it suddenly went off the side of the road. Before Officer Barden was able to regain control he hit a parked truck and was killed.

Officer Barden had served with the Peoria Park District Police Department for only six weeks.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, mother, three brothers and a sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-009983E9
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Barden served with the Peoria Park District Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Peoria community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Barden.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Peoria, Peoria County, IL
Platform Identity ppdpd.peoria.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 24, 1938
Tour of Duty 1 mo
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Charles E. Barden is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Peoria Park District Police Department, 3 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 75% of this agency's fallen.

Peoria Park District Police Department
3
of 4 officers
75% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles E. Barden's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Charles E. Barden Compares

Age at Death
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0.1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Charles E. Barden is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Others Who Wore This Badge

3 officers from Peoria Park District Police Department are honored on badge.nw.