Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolmen Sonny Allen and Steven Poetker were killed when their vehicle was struck by a train at an unguarded crossing near Waldo. The two were returning from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in East Camden, Arkansas. They had just joined their department chief in a chase when the accident occurred. Patrolman Poetker had graduated from the academy at 1:00 pm, and the accident occurred shortly after 2:00 pm. The department only had three officers at the time of their deaths. Patrolman Allen had served with the Waldo Police Department for one year.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AR-2B2983CE- 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.
Patrolman Allen gave the Waldo Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Waldo community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Allen.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John H. "Sonny" Allen 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 AR, 92 of 372 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.3 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Waldo Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John H. "Sonny" Allen's cause is highlighted.
How John H. "Sonny" Allen Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John H. "Sonny" Allen is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Waldo Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
