POLICE OFFICER JAMES CARNEY

ID 3386

E.O.W.: 03/13/1983

The department still had open wounds from the death of Officer Kirk Johnson when they found themselves forced to bury yet another officer before his time.

On March 13, 1983, 23-year-old Officer James Carney was riding his personal motorcycle to work at the Northern Division when he saw an accident southbound on Interstate 163 at Miramar Road.

Carney easily could have kept going rather than choosing to stop and help. As he was negotiating his way through the accident debris to stop, he struck the back of a semi truck and was thrown from his bike.  He was killed almost instantly.

Carney's fiancé at the time was Rena Nadeu who, several years later became, a San Diego police officer herself.  Nadeu recalled “James was the type to always help someone when they needed it.  He’s the reason I became a police officer.”

Footnote: Over the years a number of SDPD personnel ave died in off duty traffic accidents. As a general rule, those deaths are not considered line of duty and they would not be listed on the fallen officers portion of this, or any other, website. In this specific case, Officer Carney was killed while attempting to provide assistance at the scene of an incident that would have required law enforcement. It was the museums decision to list his death as line of duty.

THE THIN BLUE LINE