Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Paul Harlan succumbed to injuries sustained on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, 1979, when he was involved in a crash at the intersection of Main Street and Murphy Boulevard during a high-speed pursuit. He was pursuing a juvenile who had been involved in an earlier hit-and-run crash when both vehicles went out of control and struck a brick wall. The juvenile fled the scene on foot but was arrested in Texas on November 29th, 1979, and extradited to Missouri. Patrolman Harlan was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on December 6th, 1979.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-D794D242- 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.
Patrolman Harlan served with the Joplin Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Joplin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Harlan.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Paul Wesley Harlan 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 29.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Joplin Police Department, 4 of 21 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 19% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Paul Wesley Harlan's cause is highlighted.
How Paul Wesley Harlan Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Paul Wesley Harlan is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
20 officers from Joplin Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
