Kansas Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Directory of Names on the Memorial, S-Z

Matthew Samuels
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Greenwood County
County: Greenwood
Death Date: 1/19/2005
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances of Death:
Sheriff Matthew Samuels was serving a search and arrest warrant at a home in a remote part of Greenwood County. Scott Cheaver, the man for whom the warrant had been issued, fired on the officers present and Samuels was shot. He died at the scene. Samuels, 42, had served as a law enforcement officer for Greenwood County since 1986. He was a third generation lawman.

Clarence A. Sanger
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction: Moran
County: Allen
Death Date: 3/28/1942
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While on his rounds, Marshal Sanger discovered two men attempting to break into a garage. Sanger, with pistol drawn,challenged them at the rear door. The suspects immediately fired at the marshal with a shotgun, killing him almost instantly.

Fred Schaumeyer
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 2/12/1948
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
On February 12, 1948, Officer Shaumeyer was investigating a report of a car parked on the Frisco railroad tracks. Perhaps because of the ice and snow, Shaumeyer fell from the bridge and was killed.

Charles Schram
Type of Officer: Night Marshal
Jurisdiction: El Dorado
County: Butler
Death Date: 7/13/1915
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Night Marshal Schram climbed the stairs leading over Wiley's Smoky House the morning of June 28, 1915 to investigate a noise. He was slugged as he reached the top by an unknown assailant. He fell to the bottom of the stairs suffering further injuries. Schram died 16 days later.

Earl Scothorn
Type of Officer: Special Officer
Jurisdiction: Santa Fe Railroad
County: Johnson
Death Date: 11/13/1927
Added to Memorial: 2007
Circumstances of Death:
Several weeks prior to his death on November 13, 1927, Santa Fe Railway Special Officer Earl Scothorn was on duty in the Santa Fe Railway yards in Argentine when he received injuries believed to have been a result of being struck by a train. T Special officer Scothorn was 32-years-old at the time of his death. Prior to working for Santa Fe, he had been a Lawrence, Kanss police officer.

Edward Scotten
Type of Officer: Deputy Policeman
Jurisdiction: Hunnewell
County: Sumner
Death Date: 9/2/1884
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Deputy Ed Scotten was killed when he attempted to disarm four cowboys who were "shooting up" the town. On August 12,1884, he was shot in the neck, which resulted in paralysis. He died of his injuries on September 2, 1884.

Robert C Scudder
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Wichita
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 11/27/1923
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
On November 24th, 1923, Office Scudder was responding to a disturbance call at a dance hall. Proceeding up the stairs, hemet Ray Foor, whom he halted and attempted to body search. The suspect pulled a gun and fired, wounding Scudder, and then
fled. Another officer followed in pursuit. Officer Scudder died three days later of his wound.

H. C. Seaman
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction: Baxter Springs
County: Cherokee
Death Date: 11/7/1870
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
A “fallen woman” by the name of Nellie Starr, who is listed in the Cherokee County census as operating a brothel, became involved in an argument with two Texas cattle drovers at the Wiggins House Hotel. She fired a pistol at one of the men. Marshal Seaman attempted to arrest Starr, but several more shots were fired and one of the Texans shot the marshal. Before Seaman died, he seriously wounded one of the suspects. During the shooting, the owner of the Wiggins House was wounded and the hotel caught on fire. Marshal C. M. Taylor was appointed by Mayor J. R. Boyd to succeed Seaman. On June 29, 1872, Mayor Boyd shot and killed Marshal Taylor in a dispute.

Wayne L. Selle
Type of Officer: Corrections Officer
Jurisdiction: U.S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 7/31/1973
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances of Death:
Corrections Officer Wayne L. Selle was stabbed to death during an inmate disturbance that started in “A” cellblock. Hooded inmates then took four hostages and demanded an audience with Warden Loren Daggett and representatives of the press. The hostages were released after the warden agreed to meet with a committee of the inmates.

William Semans
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Ellsworth
County: Ellsworth
Death Date: 8/2/1869
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Ellsworth city policeman William “Apache Bill” Semans was attempting to stop a row at the dance hall and was killed during the attempt. No other information has been located.

Albert T. Shenneman
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Cowley County
County: Cowley
Death Date: 1/25/1883
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Sheriff Shenneman had received notice that Charles Cobb, who had killed Valley Falls Marshal Daniel Weiser, was traveling in his direction. Cobb, working at a ranch near Udall Station (now Udall) aroused suspicion of the owner when he kept loaded weapons close at hand. The rancher notified Shenneman. Using an assumed name, the sheriff went into the ranch house,observed Cobb, decided he was the wanted person and attempted to arrest him. Cobb, however, shot and killed Shenneman but was captured by the owner and ranch hands and taken to Winfield. When a large crowd gathered, Cobb was moved to Wichita for safekeeping. He was returned, however, to Winfield for a court hearing. A large mob again gathered, took him from the jail, and lynched him from the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Kansas railroad trestle. While in jail, Cobb explained that books on Jesse James and other "desperados" had influenced his spree of crime.

John Sherman
Type of Officer: Railroad Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 8/31/1927
Added to Memorial: 1997
Circumstances of Death:
Union Pacific Special Agent John Sherman was shot in the back August 17, 1927 by a youth after he had taken two youths from a train in the Topeka yards. He almost finished searching one man for weapons when the second pulled a gun and shot him. The two assailants escaped. Sherman would linger until August 31st when he died. The following year Vincent Williamson and Herman Lemp were implicated in the slaying. Williamson was already in jail at Hutchinson for the derailment of three trains. A fireman was killed in one of the derailments. Williamson admitted the shooting to Lemp while in jail. The cell had been bugged. As a result he pled guilty and was sentenced to the state penitentiary.

Clarence L. Shields
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 4/11/1955
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer "Boots" Shields, who was either responding to a tip or was continuing an investigation into a burglary ring, made a patrol stop at the Moose Lodge Club in North Topeka. He surprised burglars on the roof of the lodge and was mortally wounded by them. Shields managed to return their fire, wounding one of the suspects. The investigation into Shields' killing and arrest of suspects led to the disbanding of a large burglary ring.

George Shindle
Type of Officer: Special Agent
Jurisdiction: Union Pacific Railroad
County: Logan
Death Date: 7/3/1916
Added to Memorial: 2007
Circumstances of Death:
On June 21, 1916 Union Pacific Railroad Special Agent George Shindle was stabbed by a railroad worker in the Union Pacific Railroad yards in Oakley while investigating reports of someone peddling liquor on railroad property. Shindle was treated for his wounds by a physician in Oakley, was transferred to a hospital in Denver where he died. Agent Shindle had been an employee of Union Pacific for 12 years and was survived by his wife and two sons.

Carl A. Simons
Type of Officer: Chief of Police
Jurisdiction: Leoti
County: Wichita
Death Date: 5/25/1976
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
North of Leoti, Chief Carl Simons stopped a car driven by Richard McCowan, who was in violation of parole. A general requestor McCowan's arrest had been circulated, and Simons stopped McCowan on that charge. McCowan, who had his children with him in the car, was handcuffed by Officer Simons and was taken to the officer's car, but McCowan returned to his car to check on his children. At his car, McCowan retrieved his gun (probably given to him by one of his children) and walked back to the police car. While still handcuffed, McCowan engaged in a struggle with Simons, and Simons was shot and killed. When Simons did not report in from duty, his wife went to look for him and found him. McCowan was captured in Eads, Colorado, three hours after the incident.

Jube Simpson
Type of Officer: Night Marshal
Jurisdiction: Lenora
County: Norton
Death Date: 11/21/1932
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Although there were no witnesses to the killing it is believed that Night Marshal Simpson was overpowered at the Home Oil Station in Lenora by two men who had intended to loot various businesses in town. Two Colorado men were later charged in the killing but the case was dismissed.

Hugh H. Siverd
Type of Officer: Constable
Jurisdiction: Winfield
County: Cowley
Death Date: 10/25/1893
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Constable Siverd arrested bootlegger Wilbur Norton on a warrant, and was taking him to jail when they were confronted by Morgan Wright, a friend of Norton's. Wright ordered Siverd to release Norton. Norton jumped to one side and Wright shot and killed the constable. A gold star in the sidewalk marks the spot of Siverd's death.

Thomas J. Smith
Type of Officer: Chief of Police
Jurisdiction: Abilene
County: Dickinson
Death Date: 11/2/1870
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Thomas Smith, chief of police of Abilene, was well known for his effectiveness in that position. During the last week of October 1870, Smith, who was also an appointed deputy sheriff, was asked to serve a warrant for the re-arrest of a murder suspect,Andrew McConnell. Smith may have been acting in any one of his official capacities. McConnell lived in a dugout outside of town. Chief Smith and Officer James McDonald went to the location to serve the warrant. At the site, McConnell’s friend, a man named Miles who had given false testimony to originally save McConnell from prosecution,was with him. When Smith informed McConnell he had a warrant for his arrest, McConnell shot Smith through the right lung. Smith in turn wounded McConnell and they began to grapple. Miles truck Smith in the head, grabbed an axes and cut his “head nearly from his body.” Officer McDonald immediately returned to Abilene and a posse was raised. Several days later, police magistrate C. C. Kuney and James Gainsford, two of the original posse, captured McConnell and miles north of Clay Center with the assistance of Clay County Sheriff P. Rothman and two other men. The Abilene Chronicle wrote of Smith that he was “an officer who never shrank from the performance of his duty. He was a stranger to fear…..He came to this place last spring, when lawlessness was controlling the town…and soon order and quiet took the place of the wild shouts and pistol shots of ruffians who for two years had kept orderly citizens in dread for their lives…It will be a long time before his equal will be found in all the essentials required to make a model police officer…In years to come there will be those who will look back to the days when it required brave hearts and strong hands to put down barbarism in this new country and among the names of the bravest and truest [will be Tom Smith].”

William Smith
Type of Officer: Special Agent
Jurisdiction: U.S. Treasury Department
County: Crawford
Death Date: 12/25/1937
Added to Memorial: 2007
Circumstances of Death:
U.S. Treasury Department Special Agent William E. Smith suffered a head injury in a vehicle crash while he and another agent were pursuing a suspected bootlegger near Mulberry, Kansas on August 11, 1937. More than four months later, Smith was still under a doctor's care for injuries suffered in the crash. On December 22, 1937, Special Agent Smith suffered a stroke while on duty and died three days later. He was a 17 year veteran of the Treasury Department and a veteran of the U.S. Army. Special Agent Smith was survived by his wife.

Kenneth E Snider
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Sedgwick County
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 4/18/1998
Added to Memorial: 1998
Circumstances of Death:
Shortly after midnight, Sergeant Snider and three other officers of the Sedgwick County sheriff's office responded to a domestic disturbance at a house in the Oaklawn neighborhood just outside Wichita. Snider was the first to enter the house, and began trying to calm the occupants. As two other officers arrived, one of the occupants ran for the back door. During the ensuing struggle, officer Snider was stabbed in the shoulder. Mortally wounded, he died an hour later. Sergeant Snider was 48 years old. A native of Ellis, Kansas, he had been a Sedgwick County sheriff's deputy since 1976, serving earlier with the Wichita Police Department.

James A Spillman
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Lyon County
County: Lyon
Death Date: 8/4/1881
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Deputy Spillman had escorted an inmate named Edward Johnson to Johnson's former apartment at the latter's request to look for
clothing. Johnson had been arrested the previous May on a variety of charges. At the time of his arrest he was described as a"walking arsenal," and the court had declared him insane. At the apartment, Spillman inventoried the contents of Johnson's trunk, finding four pistols and two butcher knives. He returned everything to the trunk and proceeded with Johnson into the yard. Johnson said he had to return to the apartment for something and before Spillman could react, Johnson went to the house and retrieved a pistol and knife. He fired at Spillman, but missed, then stabbed the deputy to death. Spillman died at the scene.

John M. Starnes
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 7/13/1919
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Five men who were "joyriding" collided their car with another vehicle and then continued riding through the streets of Leavenworth. After many complaints were received, the Leavenworth Police Department began searching for the suspects. Upon locating them, Officer Starnes attempted to arrest the men, but was knocked from the running board of their car by a blow to the head. It was thought that a crankshaft was used to deliver the blow. Two of the men were captured shortly after the incident and the other three surrendered a week later. Starnes' injury was at first thought to be minor, but he deteriorated slowly and died nearly a week later.

Roy Stewart
Type of Officer: Special Officer
Jurisdiction: Santa Fe Railroad
County: Harvey
Death Date: 1/9/1926
Added to Memorial: 2007
Circumstances of Death:
On August 9, 1921, while riding a locomotive through Newton's Sand Creek yards, Santa Fe Railway Special Officer Roy Stewart observed two trespassers. While he was questioning the trespassers, one of them fired two shots at Stewart, seriously wounding him. With the assistance of a posse and blood hounds, the two suspects were quickly arrested. As a result of the serious wounds inflicted, Special Officer Stewart died on January 9, 1926. He was 41-years-old at the time of his death.

John Stonebraker
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Salina
County: Saline
Death Date: 2/12/1917
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Responding to a call involving a public disturbance, Officer Stonebraker and Chief of Police Howard Burke entered a rooming house where the suspect was located. As the officers entered, the suspect opened fire, immediately killing Officer Stonebraker and wounding Burke.

Gregory A Stubbs
Type of Officer: Sheriff's Deputy
Jurisdiction: Shawnee County
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 6/29/1998
Added to Memorial: 2000
Circumstances of Death:
Shawnee County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Stubbs died of a heart attack while on duty shortly after eight o’clock the evening of June 29, 1998. Deputy Stubbs had taken part in the first of several drug raids earlier in his shift when he began to feel ill. He had driven to a local convenience store for a soft drink and pain reliever. He was discovered slumped over the wheel of his patrol car by civilian passersby, but their efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Deputy Stubbs was a ten-year veteran of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department and had worked a second job as the Chief of Police of Auburn, Kansas.

C. M. Taylor
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction: Baxter Springs
County: Cherokee
Death Date: 6/29/1872
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Mayor J. R. Boyd of Baxter Springs was involved in a dispute with the lumberyard owner over the mayor's debt. A fight ensued and the owner swore a warrant for Boyd's arrest. City Marshal Taylor was serving the warrant when an argument began and Mayor Boyd shot and killed Taylor. Marshal Taylor had been appointed by Boyd in November of 1870 to replace Marshal H. C. Seaman, who had been killed in the line of duty.

Pleasant E. Teel
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Herington
County: Dickinson
Death Date: 1/17/1960
Added to Memorial: 1992
Circumstances of Death:
Everett Teel, 53 year old Herington police officer died of a heart attack Sunday, January 17, 1960 after pursuing a reckless driving suspect on foot. The chase took place about 3:15 A.M. when the suspect turned around in the middle of the street, got out of his car and began running. Teel tackled the man after a chase of about a block and a half. He collapsed after he and Officer Dean Stroda had returned the suspect to the police station. He was taken to the hospital where he died. Medical authorities attributed the heart attack to the tussle with the prisoner. Teel joined the police force in October of 1957 and was a popular member of the force. He was survived by a wife and one son. In December of 1960 he was awarded the Medal of Merit for Valor at the Police Hall of Fame at Port Charlotte, Florida. The award was sponsored by the National Police Officers Association of America, the largest professional police organization in the U. S. at the time. Their new $75,000 Police Hall of Fame was located in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Bret D. Tepe
Type of Officer: Investigator
Jurisdiction: Ford County
County: Ford County
Death Date: 9/23/2003
Added to Memorial: 2004
Circumstances of death:
On the morning of September 23, 2003, Ford County Sheriff's Office investigator Bret D. Tepe was driving to meet with an agent from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to conduct interviews. Investigator Tepe was traveling on Highway 50 west of Spearville wgen the right rear tire of an eastbound vehicle blew out. That vehicle went left of center, striking Investigator Tepe's vehicle head-on. Investigator Tepe was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The driver of the east bound vehicle also died in the accident. Bret D. Tepe was 37 years old at the time of his death. Investigator Tepe is survived by his wife, Angela, and three children.

John Teter
Type of Officer: Chief of Police
Jurisdiction: Oxford
County: Sumner
Death Date: 4/9/1995
Added to Memorial: 1995
Circumstances of Death:
Oxford Police Chief John Teter was critically injured April 2nd when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving while pursuing a suspect driving a stolen mini van. The high speed chase, which included units from Winfield Police Department and the Sumner County sheriff's office, continued and the suspect was later apprehended. Teter died from his injuries April 9th without
regaining consciousness.

James D. Thornton
Type of Officer: Kansas Highway Patrol
Jurisdiction: Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 10/2/1973
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Trooper Thornton stopped to investigate a hitchhiker on I-70 east of Topeka, unaware that the man was wanted in New York for murder. The hitchhiker shot and killed Thornton, and was himself shot and killed by other officers after he refused to surrender.

Daniel D. Trail
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Beloit
County: Mitchell
Death Date: 6/25/1995
Added to Memorial: 1996
Circumstances of Death:
Several Beloit residents were riding the Solomon River in inner tubes. As they approached the river spillway in Beloit, two of them decided to go over the spillway and through the rapids. The Glen Elder dam was releasing a great deal of flood water from upstream at the time and the rain swollen rivers current was described at torrential. One individual was thrown clear of the rapids below the spillway but one was trapped in the backwater. Trail, a volunteer fireman and several others formed a human chain to try and reach the trapped individual. While straining to reach the individual the chain broke. Trail and the fireman fell into the water. The fireman was thrown clear but Trail was unable to reach safety and drown.

Andrew F. Turner
Type of Officer: Corrections Officer
Jurisdiction: U.S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 3/26/1916
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances:
Corrections Officer Andrew F. Turner was fatally stabbed by inmate Robert Stroud during the noon meal in the prison dining area. Authorities believed that Stroud stabbed Turner because the guard was going to put him on “report” for bad conduct.

John Van Horn
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Parsons
County: Labette
Death Date: 7/27/1899
Added to Memorial: 1994
Circumstances of Death:
Policeman Van Horn heard two shots fired near the Gulf depot in Parsons on the night of July 27th and went to investigate. Van Horn found four men in the vicinity and arrested one of them who was carrying a revolver. The three others fled the scene. On the way back to the jail one came back and was also subsequently arrested. In a block or so another of the original four was found to be sitting on a fence. When Van Horn went to pull him of the fence the killer fired twice mortally wounding Officer Van Horn. Van Horn returned fire striking his assailant J. W. Cook in the stomach. Cook would later survive his wounds and serve fifteen years in the Penitentiary at Lansing.

David L VanMeter
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Minneapolis
County: Ottawa
Death Date: 8/11/1977
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer VanMeter was probably on his way to check the city-county airport when his car careened off the highway in a heavy rain. He was killed instantly in the accident. VanMeter was the first officer in Ottawa County to die in the line of duty.

Robert H Vest
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Cowley County
County: Cowley
Death Date: 1/17/1964
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While on patrol near Arkansas City, Deputy Vest was killed in a one car accident.

William E. Waers
Type of Officer: Rock Island Railway Police
Jurisdiction: Herington
County: Dickinson
Death Date: 1/11/1922
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Rock Island Railway policeman Waers was brought to Herington to assist in an ongoing investigation concerning nine murders in the railroad yards over the past five years. Waers, it was later learned, evidently interrupted two men stealing coal from the yards and was shot when he attempted to arrest them. Waers and other railroad police had been cooperating with local authorities at the time of his death. After his killing, additional railroad police were brought into the case and Waers' two killers were identified.

Wesley G Walden
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Wyandotte County
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 11/19/1955
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Walden, only nineteen days on the force, was riding with another officer at approximately 4 a.m. when they responded to an accident call. While en route, their patrol vehicle struck the rear of a truck parked along the roadside near Muncie. The driver of the truck had stopped to aid another motorist and the rear of his truck was left protruding onto the roadway. Walden was killed in the accident, and the other officer was severely wounded.

J. B. Waldrupe
Type of Officer: Corrections Officer
Jurisdiction: Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 11/16/1901
Added to Memorial: 1997
Circumstances of Death:
Three hundred and thirty eight prisoners were working at the new site for the federal prison just north of Leavenworth and two miles west of Fort Leavenworth and the federal prison. They were under the control of twenty seven guards. At approximately 3:30 P. M. a whistle sounded from a small steam engine inside the stockade. Thee inmates instantly dropped their tools and drew three Colts revolvers and marched up the superintendent's office. Superintendent Hinds and two guards were walked out of the building in font of the convicts. As they advanced additional guards were added to the human shield (no weapons were allowed within the stockade). The convicts charged one gun tower where all of the weapons were held and removed them and took the guard hostage. After being turned away from the west gate the convicts turned to the southwest corner of the stockade. One tower was rushed but the guards rifle did not fire. He was slightly wounded but they left him alone when he threw the rifle down. By this time the three hundred and fifty convicts who refused to joint the "Mutiny" were shouting and cheering while guards fired from twelve different towers. About one hundred yards east of the first tower was that of J. B. Waldrupe. The convicts started to fire but he was unable to return fire because of the captive guards. His tower was constructed of wood and offered little protection. He fell wounded in the hip. The tower was rushed and he rose to fire. Waldrupe killed one of the attackers. Almost instantly Waldrupe was struck in the head with a bullet. When the tower was rushed he was able to knock the first attacker down the ladder. The second attacker closed the trap door and protected the mortally wounded officer from his fellows. The captives were released about a quarter of a mile from the prison. The twenty six escapees spread out throughout the state and people from all walks of life went on the hunt. Many depredations were committed by the escapees, some of them were killed, but the majority were eventually captured. Waldrupe lingered nine days before he died.

R.G. Warnke
Type of Officer: Foreman
Jurisdiction: U.S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 6/20/1920
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances of Death:
Foreman R. G. Warnke was fatally beaten by inmate Carl Panzram in the prison laundry room. The inmate struck Warnke in the head with a heavy flat iron.

Paul J. Weber
Type of Officer: Parole Officer
Jurisdiction: Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 10/19/1976
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Parole Officer Weber went to the home of a parolee at the mother's request to have her son move out. As Weber followed the parolee into the kitchen, the man seized a butcher knife and stabbed Officer Weber to death. The parolee was convicted of assault on a law enforcement officer and first degree murder.

Daniel Weiser
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Valley Falls
County: Jefferson
Death Date: 1/6/1883
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
The night prior to Weiser's death, Charles Cobb and another man had argued after a lyceum presentation, Cobb finally shooting at the other man. The assaulted man filed a charge and Officer Weiser went to the home of Charles Cobb to serve the warrant.Cobb was waiting and, as Weiser approached, Cobb shot and killed the officer. Cobb then made his escape and the Jefferson County sheriff issued a telegraphic bulletin. Near Udall a rancher became suspicious of one of his new workers and informed Cowley County sheriff A. T. Shenneman who investigated, recognized Cobb from the bulletin, and attempted to arrest him, but was shot and killed in the process. Cobb was captured and later lynched in Winfield. See entry under Shenneman.

A. O. Welfelt
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Cowley County
County: Cowley
Death Date: 1/28/1907
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Sheriff Welfelt had tracked murderer Louis Bloomfield to Ponca City, Oklahoma Territory. On November 22, 1906, as Welfelt approached Bloomfield, he drew his revolver and accidentally discharged the weapon into his own leg. After the accident,Welfelt continued to work diligently, even arresting a suspect in the murder of Arkansas City constable John Breene. He continued to overwork and at one point his deputies locked him in a cell to restrain him. Welfelt finally succumbed to the wound,which was complicated by other illnesses, on January 28, 1907, nearly three months after he had been shot. The wound had caused his retirement as sheriff prior to the elections and he was no longer an officer at the time of his death.

Isaac West
Type of Officer: Night Marshal
Jurisdiction: Gas City
County: Allen
Death Date: 12/15/1921
Added to Memorial: 1995
Circumstances of Death:
Marshall West was shot and killed in Gas City as he approached a local home owner in an attempt to serve an order given by the city council. The property owner had repeatedly refused to remove a section of barbed wire which he had strung across his sidewalk. West was shot without warning as he approached the house.

Fred Wheeler
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 9/1/1922
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Wheeler and Sergeant Elmer Biggs observed several persons unloading tires from a parked truck. When the officers approached to investigate, the suspects opened fire, killing Biggs instantly and seriously wounding Wheeler. Wheeler later died at the hospital.

James R. White
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Junction City
County: Geary
Death Date: 11/18/1901
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officers White and Robert Cooper were attempting to quell as disturbance created by Fourteenth Cavalry soldiers from nearby Fort Riley. The disturbance became violent and both officers were shot and killed by cavalry trooper W. B. Buchanan. The suspect later committed suicide in his cell.

Lee White
Type of Officer: Corrections Officer
Jurisdiction: Hutchinson
County: Reno
Death Date: 7/26/1928
Added to Memorial: 1997
Circumstances of Death:
Lee White a guard with the Hutchinson State Reformatory was in charge of a work detail on July 25, 1928 at the State Fairgrounds. The five inmates were involved with smoothing out the finishing coat of cement work on the new grandstands. They finished about 11:00 and began picking up tools. Just as White turned out a searchlight he was struck on the head by two of the inmates, Glenn Bellfield and Jake Schell, and knocked unconscious. The two escaped, changed clothes, shot a young girl in the cheek while commandeering her car, and left town. White regained consciousness and was treated by a local physician. After receiving the first aid White returned to the reformatory. Even though advised against it he was determined to join in the chase. Later that morning he took his brother's Lincoln Touring car, an inmate driver, and two other reformatory officers. The automobile was traveling at a high rate of speed when it approached a curve in the road. The driver realized that he would be unable to make the turn and determined to go straight. The car hit a stump and rolled two times. As it came to rest White was underneath it. He died at the scene while the others suffered minor injuries. After a cross country manhunt the two
assailants were captured after a shootout in Roswell, New Mexico on July 29, 1928.

Chauncey B. Whitney
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Ellsworth County
County: Ellsworth
Death Date: 8/15/1873
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Whitney, well-known lawman and scout who had participated in the Battle of Beecher Island in 1868, became sheriff of Ellsworth County in 1871. Billy Thompson, buffalo hunter and general frontiersman, tried to start a fight over a card game. Whitney stepped in to stop the disturbance and Thompson shot him with a double-barreled shotgun. Thompson was quoted assaying, (when asked why he would shoot someone like Whitney), "I would have shot if it had been Jesus Christ."

Todd Michael Widman
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Brown County
County: Brown
Death Date: 3/1/2000
Added to Memorial: 2000
Circumstances of Death:
During the early evening of March 1, 2000, Brown County Deputy Sheriff Todd Widman responded to a report of a transient walking along U.S. highway 73 northeast of Hiawatha. Not finding anyone at that location, he continued patrolling the Hiawatha area. An hour later, he located an individual matching the earlier description walking east on Oregon Street in Hiawatha. Believing the young man to be a runaway juvenile, Deputy Widman placed the youth in the front seat of his canine cruiser. While en route to the Sheriff’s Department, the sixteen-year-old juvenile removed a handgun from his duffel bag and shot Deputy Widman multiple times. Deputy Widman managed to get out of the patrol car and radio a distress call before collapsing in a resident’s driveway near 12th and Oregon St. Emergency medical personnel took Deputy Widman to Hiawatha Community Hospital where he died of his wounds a short time later. Nearly three hours after the shooting, following a manhunt by several police agencies, the suspect was shot and killed after firing upon officers just west of Hiawatha. Deputy Widman, a lifelong Brown County resident, was twenty-one years old and a junior at Washburn University seeking a degree in criminal justice. He had worked for the Brown County Sheriff’s Department for nearly two years as a reserve officer and part-time deputy. He is survived by his mother and stepfather Brenda and Dean Wenger and his sister Jill Widman.

Ben Wiggins
Type of Officer: Night Marshal
Jurisdiction: Lyons
County: Rice
Death Date: 3/30/1936
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Wiggins was found dead on the morning of March 30 at the rear of the Williamson Brooks furniture store. It was apparent that he had surprised burglars in the store and was shot before he could act in defense.

Christopher C. Willems
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Sedgwick County
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 5/12/1991
Added to Memorial: 1992
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Willems was returning to police headquarters at the end of his shift at 11:00 P.M. when he stopped a van to question the three occupants. One of the occupants, Garland Deavers, had an outstanding pick up warrant out on him. He had no identification and gave the officer his brother's name. Willems was suspicious and obtained a waiver to search the van. The officer asked the occupants to step to the front of the van. He located a film canister of Marijuana and notified Garland Deavers that he was under arrest. Garland struck the officer and a fight ensued. A second occupant, Fred Wayne Deaver, took advantage of the confusion to grab a .357 revolver from the van and shoot the patrolman in the upper right thigh. As the officer lay on the ground Fred Deaver shot him through the head. The third occupant ran from the scene prior to the shooting and was not charged. The two Deaver's were convicted and sentenced to prison.

Mike Williams
Type of Officer: Policeman/Special Deputy
Jurisdiction: Abilene
County: Dickinson
Death Date: 10/5/1871
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
City Marshal James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok became involved with a group of men when he attempted to quell their disturbance on the Abilene streets. Hickok warned the group and left. Later, when Phil Coe fired his revolver, Hickok thought the men,numbering about fifty, would likely cause a fight or a major disturbance. Hickok confronted Coe, both men drew their revolvers and began firing. In the midst of the gunfire, Mike Williams, evidently responding to assist Hickok, came around the corner of a building. In the dark, Hickok did not recognize the officer and Wild Bill mistakenly shot and killed Williams. The newspaper identified Williams as a policeman and as Hickok's deputy. Williams had been a city policeman but absolute proof that he was on the force at the time of his death cannot be located. It is probable that he was working as a special police officer for one of the halls, and still may have been on the city force. Hickok also may have asked him for assistance. Given the usual attitude toward law enforcement in that time period, it may be assumed that Williams was on the force, deputized by Hickok, or responding to assist an officer based upon his role as a special officer.

Alvin T. Wolf
Type of Officer: Sheriff's Patrol Sergeant
Jurisdiction: Butler County
County: Butler
Death Date: 4/19/1982
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
A semi-truck driver, involved in several hit and run accidents, was being pursued through Sedgwick County. As he approached the Butler County line, he encountered a roadblock that had been set up by the Butler County Sheriff's Department. The driver of the truck ran the roadblock and Deputy Wolf gave chase. Wolf passed the truck hoping to get in front and slow the truck down. The offending vehicle rammed the deputy's car several times, finally locking bumpers. The truck and patrol car left the road and rammed a house, killing Wolf instantly.

Evan Yoakum
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction: Fall River
County: Greenwood
Death Date: 4/5/1930
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
City Marshal Yoakum ordered Henry Giles, who was drinking and creating a disturbance, to leave town. Giles later returned armed with a double-barreled shotgun. When the marshal was informed that Giles was back, he met him in the street and ordered him to surrender. They both fired and Yoakum was killed instantly.

A. L. Young
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Wichita
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 11/5/1921
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While walking a beat, Young was fired upon and killed from ambush by Eddie Adams. Adams was also responsible for the killings of two other Wichita officers, Robert Fitzpatrick and Charles Hoffman, later this same year.

Jeffrey A. Young
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 8/1/1989
Added to Memorial: 1990
Circumstances of Death:
Jeffrey A. Young joined the Kansas City Police Force as a cadet in 1977 and was sworn in as a patrolman in 1980. Officer Young was struck by an automobile as he manned a roadblock on November 10th, 1988, he died on August 1, 1989.