Roll of Honor
Incident
Stock Constable William Barkley suffered a fatal heart attack while struggling with a man he and a county constable were arresting on a warrant for being drunk in public.
They went to the man's home to serve the warrant, but the man violently resisted and struggled with both officers. He continued to fight as they attempted to place him in the constable's buggy at the intersection of Pine Street and Patterson Street. Constable Barkley collapsed and died before a doctor could reach his location.
The man they were arresting was placed in jail until he became sober.
Constable Barkley had served as the county stock constable for one year. His primary duties involved dealing with livestock on public roadways.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, and three sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-170F7F59- 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.
Stock Constable Barkley gave the Fayette County Constable's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Lexington community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Stock Constable Barkley.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Stock Constable William N. Barkley is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In KY, 44 of 983 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.5 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William N. Barkley's cause is highlighted.
How William N. Barkley Compares
Offender Outcome
Arrested
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. William N. Barkley is highlighted in Jun.