In the late summer of 1990, the city of Tucson was marked by a tragedy that would be remembered for years to come. On August 24th, Kevin Weadock Barleycorn, a 37-year-old White / Caucasian male, lost his life under circumstances that were both sudden and unforeseen. At the time of his death, he was a Corporal with the University of Arizona Police Department, a position he had held for five years.
The incident that led to his untimely passing unfolded at a Kappa Sigma fraternity party near the university campus.
Responding to a disturbance call at the fraternity house located near the intersection of East 6th Street and North Cherry Avenue, Corporal Barleycorn and his fellow officers were confronted by a chaotic scene. A 17-year-old named Eddie Myers had brandished a firearm and fired a shot into the air. As the officers moved to subdue Myers, a struggle ensued. In the heat of the moment, another officer, perceiving an imminent threat, discharged his weapon at Myers.
Tragically, the bullet passed through Myers' arm and struck Corporal Barleycorn in an area not protected by his ballistic vest. The injury proved to be fatal. Eddie Myers was immediately taken into custody. In the aftermath, the community mourned the loss of a dedicated officer who was the first from a university police department in Arizona to be killed in the line of duty.
The legal process that followed saw Eddie Myers facing serious charges for his role in the events that led to Corporal Barleycorn's death. In March of 1992, Myers pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault. He received two concurrent five-year prison sentences for his crimes. However, in a decision that drew mixed reactions from the community and Barleycorn's family, the Arizona Board of Clemency granted Myers home arrest in April 1994, after he had served approximately two and a half years of his sentence.
