NEWS RELEASE: May 6, 2008
FROM: The Kansas Highway Patrol
CONTACT: TechTRP Edna Buttler (785)296-6800
Blue Ribbons to Honor Fallen Law Enforcement Officers
Law enforcement officers lost in the line of duty made the ultimate sacrifice
This month, National Police Week will be observed May 10 to May 16. The Kansas Highway Patrol is joining Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) to observe both National Police Week and National Peace Officers' Memorial Day May 15, 2009. COPS is a national non-profit organization for the families of officers lost in the line of duty. The Patrol will be tying blue ribbons to agency-owned vehicles, and encouraging civilian workers to outfit their vehicles with the ribbons during the special observance to honor these fallen officers, as well as their families.
Patrol Superintendent Colonel Terry Maple said, "As a community, the law enforcement world grieves for its lost officers. Banded together by a badge and oath to protect and serve, the loss of any officer, be it police, sheriff's department, trooper, or otherwise, the after effects make waves through the entire law enforcement community. These ribbons serve as a way to honor and celebrate the lives of each of these officers and the work he or she has done."
A limited supply of the official COPS ribbons will be available at many Kansas law enforcement agencies, including your local Kansas Highway Patrol troop headquarters. If the official COPS ribbons are not available, any 18-inch strip of royal blue ribbon will show your support.
"These ribbons serve as an important reminder of the ultimate sacrifice these officers made while keeping their communities and citizens safe," Maple said.
In the United States during 2008, 133 law enforcement officers were lost in the line of duty, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Kansas was fortunate in 2008, losing no officers in the line of duty. In 2007, Kansas had one fallen officer.
In addition to participating in the blue ribbon campaign, the public is encouraged to attend the memorial events that take place in Kansas. In Topeka, the 14th Annual Kansas Law Enforcement Candlelight Vigil will be held at the law enforcement memorial at 8:30 p.m., Thursday, June 4, 2009. The memorial is located on the northeast quadrant of the Statehouse grounds. The 27th Annual Kansas Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service will be held, Friday, June 5, 2009 at the Kansas Statehouse on the second floor Rotunda and at the law enforcement memorial. The ceremony will take place at 12:00 p.m. This memorial service honors those individuals who died while protecting Kansans.
Three fallen officers will be inducted to the Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial this year. Santa Fe Railroad Special Officer Jimmie Allen Barnett was hit by a train April 29, 1975 and died the following day. City Marshal A.A. Wilson of Sedan, Kansas was shot and killed on August 31, 1899 while attempting to serve a warrant. Santa Fe Railroad Special Officer Vernon Holzer was guarding a freight train when he was shot July 25, 1923 by a man who was trying to ride on the roof of one of the boxcars. He died August 21, 1923.
Throughout the memorial week and during the rest of the year, the Kansas Highway Patrol remembers the service of the following 10 Troopers who gave their lives while protecting Kansans.
KHP "Roll of Honor"
- Trooper Maurice R. Plummer was the first member of the Patrol to be killed in the line of duty. Trooper Plummer was fatally injured in an automobile crash while patrolling US-40 about five miles west of Russell on Dec. 16, 1944.
- Trooper Jimmie D. Jacobswas fatally injured in an automobile crash Oct. 8, 1959, on US-54 east of El Dorado. Trooper Jacobs was on an emergency run transporting blood for an immediate surgery in Eureka when he collided with a grain truck that turned in front of his patrol car.
- Trooper John B. McMurray was fatally injured in an automobile crash Dec. 6, 1964, on K-18 west of Manhattan. Trooper McMurray was stowing a camera in the trunk of his patrol car, which was parked on the shoulder of the highway, when an intoxicated driver struck him. He died as a result of his injuries on Dec. 9, 1964.
- Lieutenant Bernard C. Hill suffered fatal injuries as the result of an automobile crash May 28, 1967, on the Kansas Turnpike near Andover. A driver hydroplaned during a severe thunderstorm and lost control of his car and a car it was towing. The cars crossed the median of the turnpike and struck Lieutenant Hill's patrol car head-on.
- Sergeant Eldon K. Miller was shot and fatally injured on Jan. 19, 1968, while taking part in a manhunt for bank robbery suspects in Overland Park. Sergeant Miller, the first Patrol member to be killed by gunfire, was fatally shot while moving a patrol car to protect officers who were pinned down by gunfire.
- Trooper James D. Thornton was shot and fatally injured on Oct. 2, 1973, while checking a hitchhiker on Interstate 70 at the east edge of Topeka. The man, wanted for the murder of his father in New York, was later shot and killed by other officers when he refused to surrender.
- Trooper Conroy G. O'Brien was shot and fatally injured on May 24, 1978, after stopping a car for a traffic violation on the Kansas Turnpike near Matfield Green. Three suspects were apprehended after a vehicle chase, gun battle and massive manhunt south of Herington.
- Trooper Ferdinand F. "Bud" Pribbenow was shot and fatally injured on July 11, 1981, after stopping a man for driving 98 miles per hour on the Kansas Turnpike near El Dorado. The suspect was wounded and apprehended after a short pursuit and gun battle with officers near the Kellogg Turnpike interchange in east Wichita.
- Master Trooper Larry L. Huff was injured in an automobile crash on Nov. 3, 1993. He was patrolling US-81 south of Concordia when his vehicle was struck broadside by a semi-truck as he was attempting to turn around in pursuit of a traffic violator. He died as a result of his injuries on Nov. 26, 1993.
- Master Trooper Dean A. Goodheart was fatally injured in an automobile crash at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 6, 1995, on Interstate 70 near Oakley. As a member of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, Goodheart was performing a routine truck safety inspection when a passing car struck him.