Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Richard Simpson was killed in a motorcycle accident at the intersection of Main and Doris Streets in Porterville at 2:30 pm. Officer Simpson was en route to serve a warrant when he was notified of a severe accident nearby. As he traveled north on Main Street to the scene with his lights and sirens on, he was struck by a vehicle turning east. He succumbed to his injuries before arriving at the hospital. Officer Simpson was a United States WWII veteran who had just returned to the California Highway Patrol, serving for almost two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, a daughter, two sons, parents, and a sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-199907C5- 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
You barely got started.
Officer Simpson gave the California Highway Patrol 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Simpson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Richard L. Simpson 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 California Highway Patrol, 151 of 233 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard L. Simpson's cause is highlighted.
How Richard L. Simpson Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard L. Simpson is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
232 officers from California Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
