David Gerald Richard
Agency patch
Chief of Police

David Gerald Richard

Port Barre Police Department — Port Barre, LA
Accident
End of Watch August 5, 2007
Age 54
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
The Vigil Panel 156 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Chief David Richard was killed when he lost control of his vehicle while responding to assist officers with a vehicle pursuit.

Chief Richard was traveling eastbound on U.S. Route 190 and lost control of his vehicle before he could become involved in the pursuit. His vehicle left the roadway and struck several trees, ejecting him from the car. He died at the scene of the crash as a result of his injuries.

The vehicle being pursued crashed and all four occupants fled, but were arrested early the next morning.

Chief Richard had served as Chief of Police for the Port Barre Police Department for five years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-LA-FBF02495
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew David. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

30 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Richard gave the Port Barre Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Port Barre community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Richard.

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

Agency

Location Port Barre, LA
Platform Identity pbpd.stlandry.la.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 5, 2007
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
Age 54
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Vehicle pursuit
Weapon Not available

Chief of Police David Gerald Richard is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In LA, 180 of 595 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

Port Barre Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
LA — Statewide
180
of 595 officers
30.3% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Gerald Richard's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How David Gerald Richard Compares

Age at End of Watch
54
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
30
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David Gerald Richard is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897