Roll of Honor
Incident
Town Marshal John Barber was killed by a deer that he was attempting to feed.
Early that morning, Marshal Barber went to feed some deer that were kept in the Newberry Village Park. The deer had become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Marshal Barber was also in charge of parks and streets, and as part of his job duties, he went to feed the deer. While inside the enclosure, a buck charged at him, and he was gored by the deer's antlers. He was found dead later that day when he did not return home. The state police put the deer down.
Marshal John Barber was a widower and survived by his three adult children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-CAA1080B- Stewardship
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- 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.
Town Marshal Barber served with the Newberry Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Newberry community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Town Marshal Barber.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Town Marshal John Edward Barber 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Edward Barber's cause is highlighted.
How John Edward Barber Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Edward Barber is highlighted in Dec.