Robert Worthel
Agency patch
Chief of Police

Robert Worthel

Naperville Police Department — Naperville, IL
Accident
End of Watch September 24, 1927
Age 34
Tour of Duty 5 mo
The Vigil Panel 54 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Chief of Police Robert Worthel was killed in a motorcycle crash while responding to the scene of an armed robbery. He struck a motorist who turned in front of him at the intersection of Washington Street and School Street. Chief Worthel had served with the Naperville Police Department for five months.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-C047860C
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.
Chief of Police Worthel served with the Naperville Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Naperville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Worthel.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Naperville, DuPage County, IL
Platform Identity npd.dupage.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 24, 1927
Tour of Duty 5 mo
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Chief of Police Robert Worthel 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Naperville Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert Worthel's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Robert Worthel Compares

Age at Death
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0.4
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Worthel is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Naperville Police Department are honored on badge.nw.