Corporal Kevin Weadock Barleycorn, University of Arizona Police Department, Arizona

Corporal Kevin Weadock Barleycorn

University of Arizona Police Department, Arizona

End of Watch Friday, August 24, 1990

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Kevin Weadock Barleycorn

Corporal Kevin Barleycorn was inadvertently shot and killed by a fellow officer in the courtyard of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at the intersection of E 6th Street and N Cherry Avenue.

Corporal Barleycorn was struggling with a subject who had brandished a firearm toward officers at a fraternity party. Another officer fired at the subject just as Corporal Barleycorn was tackling him. The round passed through the subject's arm and struck Corporal Barleycorn between the panels of his vest.

Corporal Barleycorn had served with the University of Arizona Police Department for five years. He is survived by three sons, his mother, four brothers, and two sisters.

Bio

Age 37
Tour 5 years
Badge Not available

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire (Inadvertent)

crossfire, weapons violation

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I apologize in advance if any of this is too graphic. I was present at the scene when this happened. I was a U of A student at the time, and was pledging the Kappa Sigma fraternity. The Kappa Sigma compound consisted of a few small houses surrounded by a fence next to an alley. The party crashers entered through the back by jumping the fence. We believed they were gang members at the time. They immediately started fighting with some of the fraternity members and the police were called.

One of them drew a handgun and was waving it around. I recall seeing the kid with the gun (who later was identified as Eddie Morris Myers) turn towards me and some people next to me (he was about 10 feet from where I was standing) and pointing the gun at us.

Just then I saw two Campus officers sprinting towards him. One went to grab the kid's gun, the other drew and fired. I saw the one who had been lunging for the gun go down.

Mass chaos right after that. A group of us were huddled in one of the small houses. I looked out the window and saw hinm on the ground in the courtyard, on his back. I had been certified in CPR so I went outside to try to help him until paramedics arrived. As soon as I set foot out the front door a campus policewoman pointed a gun in my face. I told her I was certified in CPR and was going to try to help the officer. She let me pass.

I sprinted over and knelt down beside the officer. I saw that someone had stuck a rag under his armpit and it was soaked in blood. Nonetheless I started chest compressions the way I had been taught. I remember thinking that the officer had a far away look in his eyes.

The paramedics showed up very shortly after that and they pushed me out of the way, hard. I remember falling backwards and hitting the ground.

Initially we all thought that the kid with the gun had shot the officer. I later found out that the fallen officer's name was Kevin Barleycorn and that it was friendly fire that ended his life.

Kevin Barleycorn was clearly a very brave guy and he gave his life to protect others. I have a huge amount of respect and gratitude for what he did. I feel a lot of sympathy for the officer that shot him and hope they are at peace with the situation.

I have no idea what happened to Eddie Morris Myers but I hope he got some help and managed to turn his life around. I was angry with him for a very long time but I've since made peace with the situation.

I transferred schools shortly thereafter, which turned out to be the right thing for me to do, because I had been homesick, and my grades went way up at my new school. I was never officially a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity because I transferred schools but I still talk to some of those guys now and again.

To the family of Kevin Barleycorn, sorry for your loss, and my prayers are with you. He was a very brave guy. I might not be here to tell the tale if not for him.