Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Barnett was killed when a propane tanker car exploded following a train derailment. The explosion occurred as work crews were cleaning up the area two days after the derailment. The crews were attempting to move the tank car when it exploded, killing Chief Barnett and 15 civilians. Three other police officers were injured.
Survivors
Chief Barnett was survived by his wife and three sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-44F593F5- 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 Barnett served with the Waverly Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Waverly community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Barnett.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Guy Oakley Barnett, Sr. 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 TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Waverly Police Department, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Guy Oakley Barnett, Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Guy Oakley Barnett, Sr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Guy Oakley Barnett, Sr. is highlighted in Feb.
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Waverly Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
