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Edgar A. Barr
Type of Officer: US Corrections
Jurisdiction: Leavenworth Penitentiary
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 3/19/1917
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances of Death:
Corrections Officer Edgar A Barr was stabbed to death in the yard at the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth on March 19, 1917 by inmate Ono Manuel. Officer Barr had reported inmate Manuel earlier in the day for taking shoes from the prison shoe shop and trading them for tobacco. The inmate obtained a wood chisel and hid it in his coat. As he approached Officer Barr another argument ensued, and as Officer Barr raised his club to defend himself, the inmate stabbed him in the chest with the chisel. Officer Barr was 40 years old at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife.
 

Wimberly W. Baker
Type of Officer: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Jurisdiction Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 4/17/1937
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Baker, a Kansas City bureau FBI agent assigned to eastern Kansas, was taking out a post office box belonging to Robert Suhay and Glen Applegate, suspect of robbery. When the two appeared to claim the contents of the box, Baker identified himself and attempted to arrest the two men. They turned and fired, killing Baker in the lobby of the downtown Topeka post office.

A. W. Balfour
Type of Officer: Undersheriff
Jurisdiction Kiowa County
County: Kiowa
Death Date: 7/4/1892
Added to Memorial: 1998
Circumstances of Death:
In early July, 1892, Officer Balfour learned that a man wanted for larceny would be present at a Fourth of July picnic held at Pryor's Grove in southeast Edwards County. On the morning of July 4, Balfour drove to Pryor's Grove, located the man, talked with him for a few minutes, then informed him of the warrant and the fact that he would need to be taken into custody. Balfour was then distracted by the arrival of another man. At the moment he turned his attention to the other man, the arrestee drew a gun and shot Balfour, mortally wounding him. Falling to the ground, Balfour courageously drew his own gun and returned fire,wounding his assailant in the hand. Balfour died at the scene thirty minutes later. Forty-one years of age, he left a wife and six children.

William H. Ballard
Type of Officer: Police Detective
Jurisdiction Wichita
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 7/20/1920
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While conducting a narcotics investigation with two officers, Ballard was shot three times and killed as he attempted to search one of the suspects. The other officers were wounded, one seriously. The shooting occurred as the officers concentrated on one suspect while another was partially hidden behind a mattress and had a chance to open fire. A female suspect, jailed for investigation of the Ballard shooting, killed herself in her cell, and a male suspect attempted suicide.

Charles Batterson
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Marysville
County: Marshall
Death Date: 4/6/1898
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
On the night of April 6, City Marshal Batterson was assisting the county sheriff as the county jailor, as he often did. While Batterson was sleeping, three men escaped from their cell and attacked the marshal, beating him to death. Two of the men were captured soon after and the third not until 1902.

Maurice A. Bedell
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction Wyandotte County
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 8/29/1954
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Bedell and his partner, Louis LeManske, were on patrol when they were flagged down by a robbery victim who pointed out a field where his assailants were hiding. The suspects were apprehended, but en route to the police department, one of the suspects obtained LeManske's revolver and, in a struggle, shot Deputy Bedell. The shooting suspect was later shot and killed by sheriff's officers.

Larry G. Beery
Type of Officer: Police Captain
Jurisdiction Kingman
County: Kingman
Death Date: 4/15/1973
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While making a routine building check at a drug clinic, Captain Beery, in plain clothes, was evidently ambushed by an unknown assailant or assailants. He was taken a short distance to an alley, forced to kneel, and was shot in the head with his own weapon. The night patrol had been initiated because of a large number of burglaries in the area.

Bailey Bell
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 2/4/1933
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While on patrol with Officer Kenneth Hunt, Bell observed an occupied car that had been reported stolen. The officers approached with guns drawn and Bell ordered the occupant out. The door opened slightly and the suspect shot Bell with a sawed-off shotgun he had been holding in his lap. The killer ran, as did his accomplice, who had been inside a store during the affair. Bell had only been an officer since January 18th of the same year, and was the second man on the Leavenworth force to be killed in six months.

Fred Bell
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction Saline County
County: Saline
Death Date: 9/17/1952
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
During a court hearing for a murder case, the defendant became unruly and combative. As the sheriff attempted to restrain him,they engaged in a scuffle. Bell was struck in the chest, suffered a heart attack, and died in the courtroom.

Elmer E. Biggs
Type of Officer: Police Sergeant
Jurisdiction Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 9/1/1922
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Sergeant Biggs and Officer Fred Wheeler 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.

Frank Blizard
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction Elk County
County: Elk
Death Date: 12/30/1920
Added to Memorial: 2003
Circumstances of Death:
Shortly after noon on December 30, 1920,, Elk county Sheriff Frank Blizard drove out of Howard, Kansas to serve papers on individuals living northeast of town. When Sheriff Blizard reached the Paw Creek bridge a half-mile from Howard, he apparently drove his car into the creek to clean his tires. Investigators concluded that in the process of driving through the creek, Sheriff Blizard ran over a small quantity of nitroglycerine causing an explosion under the back of the vehicle. The explosion killed the sheriff instantly. Sheriff Blizard was forty -six years old at the time of his death. He was survived by a wife and four children.

William F. Bloomfield
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction Bourbon County
County: Bourbon
Death Date: 9/16/1922
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Deputy Sheriff Bloomfield was attempting to arrest John Cochran, a well-known bootlegger, for selling illegal liquor. A gun battle ensued at the rural location. Both men were wounded. Bloomfield died shortly after, and Cochran died a day or two later.

Henry Bodine
Type of Officer: Undersheriff
Jurisdiction Labette County
County: Labette
Death Date: 4/20/1870
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Several versions exist of the shooting of Undersheriff Bodine by a man named Patterson. One indicates that Bodine and Patterson, who met in the street, were having a disagreement and Patterson pulled a pistol, waved it, and shot the undersheriff. Another story indicates that Patterson playfully flourished the weapon at Bodine and it accidentally discharged, instantly killing him. A coroner’s inquest ruled it accidental. Undersheriff Bodine was on duty at the time.

Oscar G. Bodley
Type of Officer: Special Officer
Jurisdiction: Santa Fe Railroad
County: Franklin
Type of Crime: Robbery
Type of Death: Gunshot
Death Date: 8/29/1906
Year Added: 2007
Circumstances of death:
Oscar G. Bodley, Santa Fe Railway Special Officer, was shot and killed by a freight car robber in the Santa Fe Railway yards in Ottawa during the early morning hours of August 29, 1906. Bodley had been watching the rail yards very closely because of recent boxcar thefts. His assailant, who was apprehended by Special Officer Bodley in the act of robbing the merchandise freight car, escaped the scene only to be apprehended later that same day by the Santa Fe Railway Chief Detective and the Ottawa County Sheriff. Bodley had worked as a Special Officer in the Santa Fe Railway yards for two years and was 47 years old at the time of his death.
 

Jacob W. Boelens
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction Labette County
County: Labette
Death Date: 12/3/1950
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Sheriff Boelens and Undersheriff Dale McBride were returning to Oswego after answering a routine call to Edna when they collided head on with a car occupied by three Montgomery County youth.

Charles Joseph Bohlender Jr.
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 6/13/2000
Added to Memorial: 2001
Circumstances of Death:
On the night of June 13, 2000, Officer Charles Joseph “Joey” Bohlender, Jr., a member of the Topeka Police Department’s helicopter unit, was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed while responding to a burglary call. Officer Bohlender and Officer Jeff William Howey were assisting ground units searching for a reported burglar at a southwest Topeka business. The officers were flying in a circular pattern around the business at an altitude of 1500 feet. As the officers were maneuvering a turn over an open elevated field west of the business, the helicopter went out of control for an unknown reason and crashed. During his nine-year career with the Topeka Police Department, Officer Bohlender served in the patrol division, the anti-crime team, the SCAT/narcotics unit, the special response team, and the motorcycle unit. He had been a member of the helicopter unit since May 13, 2000. He twice was awarded the department’s Medal of Valor, in 1996 and 1999. Officer Bohlender was thirty-three years old at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife Linda and three children.

Harry L. Bolin
Type of Officer: Assistant Chief of Police
Jurisdiction Newton
County: Harvey
Death Date: 6/15/1932
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Chief Bolin was following a car suspected of transporting illegal alcohol. To avoid alerting the vehicle's driver, he was traveling without headlights. He struck a culvert banister and was fatally injured in the accident.

Felix A. Boller
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Ogden
County: Riley
Death Date: 12/12/1866
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Boller, marshal of Ogden, observed some soldiers entering the house of a female citizen. The story, as related by the newspapers, indicated that the soldiers intended to “assault” the woman. One soldier was stationed on the porch to guard the entrance. Marshal Boller ordered him out, whereupon the solder shot and killed the marshal. Citizens of Ogden shot and wounded at least one of the suspects.

Edward Lee Bowler
Type of Officer: Special Officer
Jurisdiction: Santa Fe Railroad
County: Franklin
Type of Crime: None
Type of Death: Train Accident
Death Date: 1/16/1926
Year Added: 2007
Circumstances of death:
Santa Fe Special Officer E. Lee Bowler and Special Officer H. N. Latimer had been inspecting a standing freight train at Ottawa Junction on January 16, 1926 looking for possible trespassers. As an eastbound passenger train approached, Bowler stepped to a position away from the approaching passenger train to stand on a supposedly empty eastbound track. Neither special officer was aware of another eastbound freight engine approaching, running in the same direction and parallel with the passenger train. Special Officer Bowler stepped immediately in front of the eastbound freight engine, the noise of its approach being deadened by that of the passenger train. Bowler was killed instantly. He was 51 years old at the time of his death. It was noted in the Ottawa Herald newspaper that Special Officer Bowler had been dangerously wounded by a desperado ex-convict in April 1921 while in the performance of his railroad police duties.
 

Arch D. Brandon
Type of Officer: Railroad Police Officer
Jurisdiction Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 4/19/1931
Added to Memorial: 1997
Circumstances of Death:
A Rock Island special agent was shot and killed by George Varela April 19, 1931 after he had removed him from a train in Topeka. Varela attempted to board the moving train for a second time and Brandon was preventing him from doing so. In a confession Varela claimed he fired the shot when he saw Brandon put a hand on his gun. Three shots were fired and one hit the officer. Fellow officer H. A. Purcell saw Varela fire the shots but did not see Brandon. Purcell pursued the fleeing Varela and the two exchanged several shots. He later gave up the pursuit and returned to the scene of the crime where he saw the dying Brandon. When police officers arrived, the search for Varela continued. Varela swam across the Kansas river and was found hiding about a mile from the crime scene. He would later be convicted of 1st degree murder.

Charles G. Bratton
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Burlingame
County: Osage
Death Date: 12/27/1874
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Burlingame city police officer Bratton was attempting to assist the city marshal in restraining Dan Wortz from abusing his wife. In doing so, he was stabbed several times with a butcher knife.

Dave Break
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Florence
County: Marion
Death Date: 10/9/1949
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Marshal Break followed a known drunk, Fred Stanley, home as the suspect appeared to be driving while intoxicated. The marshal pulled into Stanley's drive, proceeded to his car, and found a pint of whiskey. Stanley then shot Break three times. A neighbor fired at the assailant and the fire was returned. Stanley, when cornered in his house by the sheriff and a posse, killed himself.

John J. Breene
Type of Officer: Constable
Jurisdiction Arkansas City
County: Cowley
Death Date: 11/27/1906
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
On November 17, 1906, City Constable Breene surprised a burglar in his own house. The man, a known burglar that Breene previously had arrested, shot Breene as he attempted to apprehend the burglar. Breene died of his injuries ten days later.

George S. Brown
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Caldwell
County: Sumner
Death Date: 6/22/1882
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Brown was at the Red Light saloon attempting to disarm two brothers, Steve and Jess Green, for violation of the Caldwell gun ordinance. As the city marshal was dealing with one brother, the other distracted him; Brown turned and was shot and killed. Supposedly, a reward had been offered for the brothers for the shooting of a U.S. Marshal in Texas.

Harrison R. Brown
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Wichita
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 1/4/1925
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While walking a beat, Officer Brown stopped to question a man named Duke Kelley. Kelley fatally shot Brown, then confessed to his murder. Brown was the first black officer to be killed in the line of duty in Wichita.

Charles M. Bruce
Type of Officer: Night Police Chief
Jurisdiction McPherson
County: McPherson
Death Date: 5/14/1933
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Investigating the possible burglary of a service station, Officer Bruce found a broken lock but no one was present. After informing the station owner, he returned to find men outside the station. As he approached the suspects, he was shot. Unknowingly, Bruce had confronted the well-known Gene Johnson gang of bank robbers. Johnson was later cornered by officers from Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma and was killed in a fusillade of bullets.

Ira M. Buchanan
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Junction City
County: Geary
Death Date: 11/13/1869
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
City Marshal Daniel McCleery, because of continued disturbances by a group of Texans, ordered the “rum” and billiard room of a
shop closed. When the Texans refused to follow the order, the marshal called on Buchanan for assistance. Buchanan was shot and killed by James Coates and H. M. Childers. In 1872, Childers was found not guilty of actually shooting Buchanan and was freed. The local press said the acquittal was a “put up job,” but the technicality of Chiders’ not being proven to have actually shot was the key point. Coates had not been located.

Douglas E. Bunch
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 3/29/1983
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While assisting with a burglary call, Bunch took part in a foot pursuit. Following the incident, Bunch, who was 38 years old,stopped for a lunch break, where he was stricken with a heart attack and died.

David W. Burns
Type of Officer: Corrections Officer
Jurisdiction Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 12/15/1923
Added to Memorial: 1997
Circumstances of Death:
D. W. Burns, records clerk and parole officer, at the Kansas State Penitentiary died December 15, 1923 in St. Louis after he had been shot four times by escaped convict B. F. Casey. Burns had gone with fellow officer Charles O' Keith to Texarkana, Texas to bring Casey back to Lansing. The shooting took place in Alicia, Arkansas early on the morning of the 14th. Before his death Casey said that he was shot with a .32 caliber revolver believed to have been smuggled to the convict while in the depot at Texarkana. At the time of Burn's funeral Benny Casey was supposedly surrounded by a posse on an Island in Cache River, near Jonesboro, Arkansas.