Roll of Honor
Derle Edward Shoemaker
Incident
Chief Derle Shoemaker died after being in a coma for 17 days. He was accidentally struck in the head which caused him to fall from a second story balcony while conducting a warrant search training exercise. Chief Shoemaker had served with the agency for 33 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-1C3B10C0- 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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Air Force. One record, 2 gates. Derle is one person.
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Tributes
33 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Shoemaker gave the South Centre Township Police Department 33 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Bloomsburg community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Shoemaker.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Derle Edward Shoemaker served in the U.S. Air Force (1954â1958) before joining law enforcement.
Chief of Police Derle Edward Shoemaker 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 33.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Derle Edward Shoemaker's cause is highlighted.
How Derle Edward Shoemaker Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Derle Edward Shoemaker is highlighted in Jun.
Military Service
Derle Edward Shoemaker served in the U.S. Air Force (1954–1958) before joining law enforcement.
Visit Derle Edward Shoemaker’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from South Centre Township Police Department are honored on badge.nw.