Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Charles Pender was electrocuted when he attempted to remove two downed electrical line from a roadway.
He was killed instantly when he came in contact with the wires.
Chief Pender had served with the California Borough Police Department for 10 months. He had previously served with the Pennsylvania Railroad Police Department and the Pittsburgh Police Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-483D8FFD- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Pender served with the California Borough Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the California community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Pender.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Charles H. Pender 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%.
At California Borough Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles H. Pender's cause is highlighted.
How Charles H. Pender Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Charles H. Pender is highlighted in Apr.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from California Borough Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
