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John P. Cates
Type of Officer: Special Officer
Jurisdiction: Santa Fe Railroad
County: Sumner
Type of Crime: None
Type of Death: Gunshot
Death Date: 6/1/1911
Year Added: 2007
Circumstances of death:
Shortly after midnight on June 1, 1911, Santa Fe Railway Special Officer John Cates was checking security seals on the freight cars of a train that had just arrived in the rail yards at Wellington. Loaded freight cars were temptation to thieves and special security precautions were taken by Santa Fe special officers at every division stop. As Special Officer Cates was
examining freight cars at the rear of the train, several shots were fired by unknown assailants and Cates was fatally wounded. Special Officer Cates was 46 years old at the time of his death. He formerly was the Guthrie, Oklahoma police chief.
 

William T. Cody
Type of Officer: Constable
Jurisdiction: Beaumont
County:Butler
Death Date: 4/2/1885
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances of Death:
William T. Cody was fatally wounded by gunfire while attempting to arrest Dave Hensey on June 2, 1885 at a railroad contractor’s office in Beaumont. Hensey a railroad foreman was wanted for shooting a man at a railroad camp near Beaumont.
 

D. F. Calhoun
Type of Officer: Railroad Detective
Jurisdiction: Railroad
County: Chautauqua
Death Date: 4/12/1905
Added to Memorial: 2006
Circumstances of Death:
On the morning of July 12, 1905, Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Detective D. F. Calhoun was fatally wounded by gunfire while attempting to arrest William Chadburn and Ed Madigan for the robbery of several travelers at the Brittum Hotel in Winfield. The shooting occurred on a road near the city limits of Cedar Vale. A resident of Norwood, Missouri, Railroad Detective Calhoun formerly served as a deputy sheriff and city marshal in Galena, Kansas. He was forty years old at the time of his death and left a wife and three children.
 

Richard A. Calhoun
Type of Officer: Constable
Jurisdiction Yale
County: Crawford
Death Date: 12/11/1904
Added to Memorial: 1992
Circumstances of Death:
Sandy Calhoun was shot and killed at 2:00 P.M. December 11, 1904 while attempting to pull his revolver from his pocket to "quiet an obstreperous prisoner" named Jim Davis. Constable Calhoun caught Davis in the act of burglarizing the residence of Samuel Stanton in Yale and placed him under arrest. He took his prisoner to the Turner Hall saloon to wait for transportation to the jail in
Pittsburg. Davis became unruly and decided that he wanted to leave. Just as Calhoun pulled his revolver his elbow struck the edge of the bar which caused it to be knocked from his hand. When it hit the floor it discharged and struck him. He died five minutes later. Davis escaped in the confusion. Calhoun's gun was a 3[0] caliber Colt's on a forth-one frame. The Pittsburgh Daily Headlight considered this model a "hard shooter". He had served as an acting constable off and on for 4 years at the time of his death. Calhoun served in Company D, 20th Infantry in the Spanish American War and operated a barber shop in Yale when not serving as acting constable. He was 35 years old and left a wife and two children.

Tom Carson
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Salina
County: Saline
Death Date: 11/29/1920
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Carson, on night patrol, was shot and killed by a man he had ordered off the Union Pacific night train. A suspect was apprehended after Union Pacific police fired several shots at the man, who was trying to board a freight train leaving town.

Willard N. Carver
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction Johnson County
County: Johnson
Death Date: 6/23/1952
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Early on the morning of June 23, Sergeant Carver and Patrolman Floyd Gaunt were investigating an attempted auto theft. The officers located a car that resembled the stolen vehicle stalled in a ditch. Carver took cover in a hedgerow and awaited the suspect's return. When two men returned with a stolen pickup to pull the car from the ditch, the officers ordered them to surrender. A gun battle ensued. Carver fired three round before he was killed. The suspects, Charles Isgrigg and William Martin, known as the "pillowcase" burglars because they carried their stolen loot in pillowcases, were wanted for various crimes. Isgrigg was captured the day following Carver's slaying, and Martin, who made the FBI's ten most wanted list, was not capture for two months. Carver was awarded the Medal of Valor by the National Police Officers Association.

Baldwin H. Casebolt
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction Chautauqua County
County: Chautauqua
Death Date: 9/10/1926
Added to Memorial: 2002
Circumstances of Death:
Early on the morning of September 10, 1926, Chautauqua County Deputy Sheriff and Cedar Vale City Marshal Baldwin H. Casebolt engaged in a car pursuit of two men suspected of robbing a Wauneta, Kansas store. The suspects stopped for gasoline in Fall City, Cowley County, Kansas near the Oklahoma border. Several minutes later Deputy Casebolt pulled up behind the suspects, got out of his car, and was fired upon as he approached the two men. He died soon after the shooting. The suspects got back in their car and fled the scene. Deputy Casebolt had served with the Sheriff’s Department for two years pandas city marshal for one year. He was also the Cedar Vale city clerk at the time of his death. The forty-five year old Deputy Casebolt was survived by his wife, Nannie, and five children.

Charles Casey
Type of Officer: Undersheriff
Jurisdiction Montgomery County
County: Montgomery
Death Date: 8/28/1937
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Undersheriff Casey was killed while attempting to arrest murder suspect Frank Foster near Elk City.

Lewis M. Chew
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Atchison
County: Atchison
Death Date: 10/27/1879
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
On October 26, 1879, a drunken man who was attempting to buy more liquor at a local saloon was refused service. The man threatened the bartender with a gun. When Police Office Chew attempted to arrest the drunk, he was shot without warning.The officer, however, was able to return the assailant's fire, fatally wounding him. Chew died from his wounds the next day.

Cleo Chrest
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Manhattan
County: Riley
Death Date: 1/27/1951
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Chrest was riding in a patrol car with another officer driving. While evidently in response to a call elsewhere in Manhattan, with red lights and sire on, the police car crashed into a vehicle that had crossed the center line. Chrest was killed in the accident.

Michael F. Churchill
Type of Officer: Chief of Police
Jurisdiction Osawatomie
County: Miami
Death Date: 2/3/1947
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Chief Churchill, with city engineer Harvey Earp, went to the home of George Miller to serve a warrant charging Miller with assaulting his wife following a night of quarreling and abuse. Mrs. Miller accompanied the two men. Finding the house locked and knowing Miller had a grandchild with him, Churchill chopped down the door, went through the house and to a shed in the alley. As he approached the shed, he was shot with a shotgun. Earp and Mrs. Miller fled to safety. A posse of 250apprehended the killer. He was convicted and hanged in May 6, 1950.

Asa N. Clark
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Corning
County: Nemaha
Death Date: 1/9/1934
Added to Memorial: 1990
Circumstances of Death:
Asa N. Clark, Corning City Marshall was shot to death January 9, 1934 as he surprised several burglars on the city main street. It is believed that Marshall Clark was able to fire one shot before being gunned down. Four people were later charged in the crime.

Alfred Claycamp
Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction Trego County
County: Trego
Death Date: 7/14/1962
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
When Sheriff Chet McAtee of Trego County was informed by a farmer of a suspicious pair of hitchhikers, he asked Claycamp,who was a deputy sheriff as well as a WaKeeney city police officer, to accompany him to investigate. They located the hitchhiking couple, Harry Jack Bloomer and his companion, juvenile Shirley Kay Nixon, and wanting to question the couple, the officers offered to take them to WaKeeney. On the way, Bloomer drew a gun, shot and killed Claycamp and seriously wounded Sheriff McAtee. A posse numbering nearly three hundred on horseback, in vehicles and airplanes, tracked the couple and capture them on July 17th.

R. H. Clift
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Chetopa
County: Labette
Death Date: 8/25/1878
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Informed that a John Richmond was in possession of a stolen mule and was heading for Missouri, Marshal Clift, who was also a deputy U.S. Marshal, pursued Richmond and stopped him near Chetopa. Richmond agreed to return to town with the marshal but instead drew a revolver and shot him. A man who had followed Clift in pursuit of the thief took the marshal for medical care,but he died the same day. Richmond was captured, but when he was being brought back for trial, he was taken off the train by a mob and lynched from a bridge.

Richard Coldren
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 3/19/1957
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Coldren and Officer Charles Pierce, in separate cars, responded to bring in a suspect on a trespassing charge. The suspect fled and both officers gave chase. When they stopped the suspect's car, he exited and held a gun on Officer Pierce. Coldren attempted to apprehend the suspect, and in a struggle he was shot. Before he died, Coldren returned the fire, hitting his assailant four times and killing him.

Edward Coleman
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction Washington County
County: Washington
Death Date: 5/15/1899
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Sheriff Coleman was attempting to serve a warrant on William Hoxie and Robert Algeo, suspects in several burglaries and robberies. Coleman, accompanied by Ira Matthews, went to Algeo's farm and arrested him. Algeo informed them that Hoxie was sleeping in the barn. As he was being apprehended, Hoxie struggled with the sheriff and was shot. As the fighting continued,Hoxie managed to take the sheriff's revolver and shoot him.

Merle R Colver
Type of Officer: Police Detective
Jurisdiction Wichita
County: Sedgwick
Death Date: 8/14/1931
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Detective Colver was questioning two men who were suspects in several gas station robberies, in their hotel room. While questioning them, he began searching the room and was shot in the back by one of the suspects. The assailant was an escaped murderer from Oklahoma.

William Conley
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Kansas City
County: Wyandotte
Death Date: 9/12/1926
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Conley and his partner, E. J. Wilson, observed a car parked under a viaduct. As they approached to investigate, they were met with gunfire. Conley was killed instantly. Wilson returned fire, killing one assailant and wounding another. The suspects had been preparing to rob the safe at the Missouri Pacific depot when they were interrupted by the officers.

Charles T. Connelly
Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction Coffeyville
County: Montgomery
Death Date: 10/5/1892
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Hearing the firing in the streets of Coffeyville as citizens took arms against an attempted bank robbery by the infamous Daltongang, City Marshal Connelly ran to the street. He exited from an alley, directly in line with the firing and the Daltons, and he was shot down. The marshal, along with three private citizens, died as a result of the Dalton's attempt to rob the Coffeyville bank.

Robert Cooper
Type of Officer: Assistant City Marshal
Jurisdiction Junction City
County: Geary
Death Date: 11/20/1901
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officers Cooper and James White 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. Cooper died two days after the November 18, 1901 incident.

Robert C. Cowdin
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Ottawa
County: Franklin
Death Date: 7/4/1962
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
Officer Cowdin of the Ottawa Police Department was on loan to the Garnett department, as were other officers from different locations, to lend assistance for traffic and crowd control during the annual Fourth of July sports car races at Garnett. While assisting to quell a riot at the race grounds, Cowdin died of a heart attack.

J. E. Cox
Type of Officer: Chief of Police
Jurisdiction Dodge City
County: Ford
Death Date: 11/8/1927
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Chief Cox was shot six times by a man he believed to be a chicken thief. This man, later identified by the FBI as JohnWaycoff, stole the Chief's car and escaped. He was later tracked down and killed by the posse in what newspapers referred to as a "grand gun duel."

John H. Cox
Type of Officer: Game Warden
Jurisdiction Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 12/6/1916
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
While attempting to arrest Claude Biggers for hunting without a license, Game Warden Cox was shot and killed six miles southwest of Topeka. Biggers removed the officer's commission, threw it away, and ran. He was caught and convicted for murder.

John Crawford
Type of Officer: Deputy Constable
Jurisdiction Columbus
County: Cherokee
Death Date: 12/31/1929
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death:
On December 29, 1929, Crawford, deputy constable of Spring Valley Township, was fatally shot at an abandoned coal mine near Columbus. Crawford was with the constable and a justice of the peace taking part in a raid at the mine suspected of housing contraband liquor and a still. Unknown to Crawford, another group consisting of two deputy sheriffs and a federal officer, were also staging a raid on the location. Neither group knew the other was present, and had not earlier notified the other. In the confusion, Crawford was mistakenly killed and a deputy sheriff was wounded. A coroner's inquest exonerated all the officers from blame. Contraband was located in the mine and its owner was arrested for bootlegging.

John M. Cross
Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction Stevens County
County: Stevens
Death Date: 7/25/1888
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Sheriff John Cross and a posse of four men entered the Cherokee neutral strip early on the morning of July 23rd to widowhoods city marshal in serving a warrant on one Sam Robinson. Sheriff Cross could not find the marshal's group and decided to return to Woodsdale. En route they were stopped by Robinson, his gang, and a large group of citizens from Hugoton. Robinson killed four of the Sheriff's group and left one for dead. The Stevens County seat war was going on at the time.

Ray Cunningham
Type of Officer: Railroad Police
Jurisdiction Augusta
County: Butler
Death Date: 5/28/1915
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
Three Frisco detectives, including Cunningham, entered a boxcar at Beaumont Junction to eject several transients from the train. In the altercation that ensued Cunningham was shot and killed.

John F. Curry
Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction Leavenworth
County: Leavenworth
Death Date: 5/2/1866
Added to Memorial: 1988
Circumstances of Death:
A stone mason by the name of Charles Quinn was fired by his superintendent. Quinn returned with a revolver and butcher knife to receive back pay he thought he was owed. As Quinn was quite threatening, the superintendent left to get help. He met Officer Curry on the street who returned with him. When Curry told Quinn he was under arrest, Quinn stabbed him seventies with the butcher knife. Townspeople lynched Quinn on the evening of the first.