William A. Barney
Agency patch
Police Officer

William A. Barney

Rensselaer Police Department — Rensselaer, NY
Accident
End of Watch January 30, 1932
Age 61
Badge 5
The Vigil Panel 63 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer William Barney was killed in a motorcycle crash at the intersection of Third Street and Glen Street while on duty.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-641BC8A1
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.
Police Officer Barney served with the Rensselaer Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Rensselaer community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Barney.

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

Agency

Location Rensselaer, NY
Platform Identity rpd.rensselaer.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 30, 1932
Age 61
Badge Number 5
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer William A. Barney 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 NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Rensselaer Police Department, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Rensselaer Police Department
1
of 3 officers
33.3% Accident
NY — Statewide
645
of 2,147 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William A. Barney's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How William A. Barney Compares

Age at End of Watch
61
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William A. Barney is highlighted in Jan.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Rensselaer Police Department are honored on badge.nw.