Roll of Honor
John P. Archer
Incident
Location: West Virginia
Railroad Policeman John Archer was accidentally shot and killed by a West Virginia State Police trooper as they chased a burglary suspect in Star City, West Virginia.
Policeman Archer, the trooper, and a second railroad policeman had were inside of the railroad station in Star City as the result of four burglaries that had occurred there over the previous two months. Shortly after midnight a subject attempted to break into the station and was confronted by the officers.
The man began to run from the station pursued by Policeman Archer and the trooper toward the Monongahela River. The trooper shot at the suspect during the pursuit but accidentally struck Policeman Archer in the back, inflicting a fatal wound. Policeman Archer was taken to Morgantown City Hospital where he died a short time later.
Policeman Archer had served with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department for four years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-E3693999- 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.
Railroad Policeman Archer gave the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Baltimore community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Railroad Policeman Archer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Railroad Policeman John P. Archer 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 MD, 140 of 377 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.1% of this state's fallen. That is 6.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department, 8 of 22 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 36.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John P. Archer's cause is highlighted.
How John P. Archer Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John P. Archer is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
21 officers from Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
