Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Ralph Herrod suffered a fatal skull fracture when he was thrown form his horse near the intersection of Barnett Street and Easy Grade Highway (Route 271).
He was riding the horse from Westmont to Johnstown to represent his department in the annual Memorial Day Parade when the horse suddenly bolted onto Barnett Street. He was thrown from the horse and suffered a fractured skull and broken neck.
Chief Herrod was survived by his wife and daughter.
Survivors
Chief Herrod was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-13559F42- 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.
Chief of Police Herrod served with the Westmont Borough Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Johnstown community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Herrod.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Ralph Clair Herrod 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ralph Clair Herrod's cause is highlighted.
How Ralph Clair Herrod Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph Clair Herrod is highlighted in May.