Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Frank Sparks was killed when his police motorcycle collided with a streetcar while he was pursuing a speeding motorist. He was attempting to get the driver's attention when he struck the streetcar head-on on Chester Avenue, near 26th Street. Officer Sparks had served with the Bakersfield Police Department for only six weeks. He was survived by his wife and three children. He is buried in Union Cemetery in Bakersfield, California.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-0D13DFB7- 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.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Sparks served with the Bakersfield Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Bakersfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Sparks.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Frank Sparks 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Bakersfield Police Department, 7 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 87.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frank Sparks's cause is highlighted.
How Frank Sparks Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Frank Sparks is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
7 officers from Bakersfield Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
