Robert Riley

Lane County Sheriff's Dept. — Eugene, OR

Accident

End of Watch August 17, 1958

Age 36

Tour of Duty 4 yrs

Badge 54

The Vigil Panel 94 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 6

Incident

Reserve Deputy Riley was killed in an automobile accident while riding with a Springfield police officer and a merchant patrolman. They were attempting to stop a speeding vehicle when their patrol car collided with a third car being driven by a 20-year-old man who made a left turn in front of them. Their patrol car then left the roadway and struck a utility pole. Reserve Deputy Riley was thrown through the windshield. The speeder was never identified and the other driver was not charged. Reserve Deputy Riley had served with the agency for 4 years. He was survived by his wife and son. His wife served as a matron for the Lane County Sheriff's Department and his son went on to serve with the Eugene Police Department. Deputy Riley was the inventor of a mechanical duck decoy that was in demand nationwide.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-OR-0C503374
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.
Reserve Deputy Sheriff Riley gave the Lane County Sheriff's Office 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Eugene community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Reserve Deputy Sheriff Riley.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Lane County Sheriff's Dept.

Location Eugene, OR

Platform Identity lcso.lane.or.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 17, 1958

Tour of Duty 4 yrs

Age 36

Badge Number 54

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Reserve Deputy Sheriff Robert Riley 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 OR, 66 of 197 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.5% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Lane County Sheriff's Dept., 1 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 14.3% of this agency's fallen.

Lane County Sheriff's Dept.

of 7 officers

14.3% Accident

OR — Statewide

of 197 officers

33.5% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident