Roll of Honor
John J. Barch
Incident
Deputy Sheriff John Barch was killed in an automobile crash while transporting a prisoner from Mount Vernon, Illinois, to Chicago.
The prisoner had been arrested in Mount Vernon on an outstanding murder warrant. His vehicle was struck by another car that ran a red light at the intersection of Cicero Avenue and 93rd Street in Oak Lawn. The impact spun the car around, and Deputy Barsh was ejected when it struck a light pole. He was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The other deputy and the prisoner were not injured.
The driver of the other car was charged with reckless homicide.
Deputy Barch had served with the Cook County Sheriff's Office - Department of Court Services for two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, three daughters, two sisters, a brother, and seven grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-E314017F- 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.
Deputy Sheriff Barch gave the Cook County Sheriff's Office 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Barch.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff John J. Barch 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Cook County Sheriff's Office - Department of Court Services, 1 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 12.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John J. Barch's cause is highlighted.
How John J. Barch Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. Barch is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
7 officers from Cook County Sheriff's Office - Department of Court Services are honored on badge.nw.
