Independence police officer who was killed in line of duty honored at Smithville High School
A brief remembrance was held ahead of Smithville High School’s football game Friday night for Blaize Madrid-Evans, the 22-year old Independence police officer killed in the line of duty earlier this week.
Three airplanes flew over the field as officers from the Independence Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol carried a banner honoring his memory. A few words were shared by the game announcer remembering Madrid-Evans for making the “ultimate sacrifice” to protect his community.
Visitors to the game between Smithville and Raytown South bowed heads for a moment of silence, followed by a performance of the national anthem played by the school marching band.
Madrid-Evans, a 2018 graduate, aspired to join the military after high school and become a combat medic. Many from the high school, including his teachers, remembered him as a kindhearted young man with a bright spirit.
“Blaize was an amazing kid and he was always kind and caring,” Mindy Lloyd, a spokeswoman for the Smithville School District told The Star on Friday. “He had a genuine heart. It is a loss to our community. It is a loss to law enforcement as a whole.”
Madrid-Evans, a recent graduate of the police academy, was shot and killed Wednesday while responding to a residence with his field training officer in the 2400 block of South Northern Boulevard. Police had received a tip that a man accused of violating his parole was there.
Once there, Madrid-Evans was shot by another man, who was shot and killed by police. The suspect, identified by authorities as Cody L. Harrison, 33, died at the scene.
The Star’s Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report.
