| Felix A. Boller was the City Marshal of Ogden, Kansas on
December 12, 1866. On that date, Marshal Boller observed a group of soldiers
entering a private home while one of them stayed on the porch appearing to guard
the front door. Concerned for the safety of a female resident, Marshal Boller
ordered the soldier standing guard to come out, at which point the soldier shot
and killed the marshal.
Felix A Boller is the first law enforcement officer in the
State of Kansas known to have been killed in the line of duty.
But not until 1976, almost 110 years after Marshal Boller's
murder, were any formal discussions held to propose creation of state memorial
dedicated to those law enforcement officers who had paid the ultimate price in
their effort to maintain the safety of the Citizens of Kansas.
In 1983, representatives of the Kansas Fraternal Order of
Police organized the first Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial Service, and joined
forces with Kansas Peace Officers Association the Kansas Sherifff's Association,
The Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, The Kansas State Troopers
Association, and the Kansas Attorney General's Office to promote construction of
a Law Enforcement Memorial on the grounds of the Kansas Statehouse.
In 1984, the Legislature and the Governor authorized
construction of the memorial northeast of the Capitol Building, and provided
that the construction and upkeep of the memorial be financed by private grants,
gifts, contributions or bequests. At the same time, the Kansas Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial Advisory Committee began a fundraising drive that lasted just
more than two years.
On October 14, 1986, the Committee held a special ceremony to
unveil the limestone monument which bore the names of 163 officers dating back
to Marshal Felix Boller.
On May 8, 1987, former Kansas City Police Chief and Federal
Bureau of Investigation Director Clarence M. Kelley was the keynote speaker at
the first Kansas Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Ceremony to be held following
the completion of the monument. |
