Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Robert Pierce was struck and killed by a vehicle while lighting a red kerosene warning lantern at a construction zone at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Cedar Street. The warning lights had gone out during heavy rain and Chief Pierce was relighting them along with a patrolman at about 10:20 pm. He was struck by a pharmacist who was rushing to his pharmacy to fill an emergency prescription. Chief Pierce was transported to Greensburg Hospital where he died at 4:50 am. No charges were filed against the driver. Chief Pierce was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII. He had served with the Irwin Borough Police Department for 18 months and had previously served with the Youngwood Borough Police Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, mother, and three siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-24C7FE6F- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Chief of Police Pierce gave the Irwin Borough Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Irwin community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Robert Earl Pierce served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Chief of Police Robert Earl Pierce 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. Robert Earl Pierce's cause is highlighted.
How Robert Earl Pierce Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Earl Pierce is highlighted in Jun.