Dale Edson Barkley

Columbia Police Dept. — Columbia, SC

Accident

End of Watch January 27, 1981

Age 33

Tour of Duty 10 yrs

The Vigil Panel 123 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 9

Incident

Police Officer Dale Barkley was killed in a motorcycle crash at the intersection of Gervais Street and Assembly Street while escorting a funeral procession. His motorcycle was struck by a car as he entered an intersection in which another officer had already blocked traffic. Officer Barkley was thrown from his motorcycle and landed underneath a nearby parked car. Several bystanders immediately went to his aid and lifted the parked car enough for him to be pulled from underneath it. He was transported to Richland Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries two days later. Officer Barkley had served with the Columbia Police Department for 10 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-SC-79AD4C0A
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.
Police Officer Barkley gave the Columbia Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Columbia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Barkley.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Columbia Police Dept.

Location Columbia, SC

Platform Identity cpd.richland.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 27, 1981

Tour of Duty 10 yrs

Age 33

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer Dale Edson Barkley 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 SC, 137 of 438 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Columbia Police Dept., 3 of 10 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this agency's fallen.

Columbia Police Dept.

of 10 officers

30% Accident

SC — Statewide

137

of 438 officers

31.3% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident