These officers made the ultimate sacrifice in Sedgwick County. Here are their stories
Law enforcement officers from Sedgwick County who have died in the line of duty will be honored Friday morning at the law enforcement memorial. This includes officers from the Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in Sedgwick County.
The ceremony is open to the public and will start at 10 a.m. outside Wichita City Hall, 455 N. Main.
The Wichita Police Department has had 23 officers die in the line of duty. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has had 10 deputies die.
These officers made the ultimate sacrifice serving the residents of Sedgwick County. Here is a glimpse into who they were.
Sidnee Carter
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 22
Length of service: 2 years
Died: Oct. 7, 2022
Carter died in a car crash while responding to a disturbance call less than a week after completing her field training. The other vehicle ran a stop sign and struck her patrol vehicle. Earlier, she worked as a jail deputy for 18 months.
Theodore Ohlemeier
Colwich Police Department
Age: 58
Length of service: 33 years
Died: Dec. 8, 2021
Ohlemeier died of complications from COVID-19 after he arrested a COVID-positive driver in Maize, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He had served in the Colwich Police Department and also with the Derby, Caldwell and Clearwater police departments.
Capt. Clay Morsell Germany
Wichita Police Department
Age: 58
Length of service: 27 years
Died: July 9, 2021
Germany died from complications after contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty. He was a U.S. Navy veteran and previously served with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and the Midwest City Police Department.
Robert Kunze III
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 41
Length of service: 18 years
Died: September 16, 2018
Kunze was shot and killed while investigating a call about a suspicious person. After finding the suspect in a stolen vehicle, they exchanged gunfire and both were fatally wounded.
Brian Etheridge
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 26
Length of service: 18 months
Died: Sept. 28, 2009
Etheridge was shot and killed after arriving at a house on South Rock Road where a larceny had been reported. The suspect, who had called in the phony larceny report, was fatally wounded as he exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers.
Lt. Jack Galvin
Wichita Police Department
Age: 49
Length of service: 20 years
Died: Nov. 4, 2000
Galvin died of injuries received from an explosion as he and members of the agency’s bomb squad were destroying commercial fireworks. As they were loading some of the fireworks into the pit that Galvin was working, an unknown event triggered an explosion, causing the remaining fireworks on the truck to ignite.
Sgt. Kenneth Snider
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 48
Length of service: 20 years
Died: April 18, 1997
Snider and three other deputies had responded to a domestic violence call and were assessing what was happening when the suspect ran through the house. All the deputies followed and a struggle ensued. The suspect pulled a knife and stabbed Snider.
Kevin Easter
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 24
Length of service: 2 years
Died: Jan. 8, 1996
Easter was shot and killed during a vehicle stop where the driver had initially refused to yield and then ran from the car. Officers arriving as backup began searching for Easter, who was found suffering from a gunshot wound. He died later during surgery.
Christopher Willems
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 30
Length of service: 7 years, 6 months
Died: May 12, 1991
Willems was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop. Willems was granted permission to search the van he had stopped, and he found a small amount of marijuana. As he placed the suspect under arrest, a struggle ensued. During the struggle one of the other men grabbed a revolver from the van and shot Willems in the leg and then in the head.
Terry McNett
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 36
Length of service: 9 years
Died: Feb. 3, 1988
McNett was shot and killed while participating in the execution of a search warrant at a drug house in Wichita. He was assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration task force at the time.
Danny Laffey
Wichita Police Department
Age: 29
Length of service: 3 years
Died: Jan. 5, 1982
Laffey was struck and killed by a vehicle while investigating a disturbance at a local club. As he was removing the occupants of a vehicle for questioning, another vehicle entered the area, jumped the curb and struck him.
Paul Garofalo
Wichita Police Department
Age: 24
Length of service: 17 months
Died: Nov. 8, 1980
Garofalo was shot and killed when he stopped his police vehicle to question two women in the street. As he did so, a man emerged and fired a shotgun through the driver’s window, killing him.
Charles Meeks
Derby Police Department
Age: 34
Length of service: 1 year
Died: May 9, 1976
Meeks died in an auto accident in western Kansas while going to participate in an official capacity at the Kansas Peace Officers Convention. His car was struck by another vehicle on U.S. 54 near Bucklin.
Roy Johnson
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 43
Length of service: 3 years
Died: Oct. 31, 1974
Johnson was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend an escaped prisoner who had shot and wounded a Wichita detective. Two other deputies were also shot and wounded during the arrest.
David Kenyon
Wichita Police Department
Age: 30
Length of service: 3 years
Died: Oct. 26, 1962
Kenyon and another officer had been at the scene of a domestic violence call for more than an hour, talking with the two participants. The man agreed to leave the home and went to his room to get some clothes. He emerged with a handgun and yelled at the officers to leave. The man’s wife grabbed their daughter and fled toward the door. As Kenyon provided cover for them, the man opened fire, striking Kenyon.
Robert Hammers
Clearwater Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: Unknown
Died: March 14, 1934
Hammers was shot sometime after midnight after coming across a possible bank robbery in progress. He spotted a truck parked near the bank when another car pulled up. Hammers, who was acting as the substitute marshal, was killed during an exchange of gunfire.
Merle Colver
Wichita Police Department
Age: 40
Length of service: 8 years
Died: Aug. 14, 1931
Colver was shot and killed while questioning two robbery suspects in their hotel room. As he began to search the room, he was shot by one of the men.
Lt. James Pugh
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: 4 years
Died: Aug. 1, 1930
Pugh was killed in a motorcycle accident while on patrol.
Paul Gilmore
Wichita Police Department
Age: 32
Length of service: 5 years
Died: July 18, 1930
Gilmore was killed in a motorcycle accident while on patrol.
Frank Hill
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Age: 45
Length of service: 1 year
Died: Aug. 16, 1927
Hill was shot and killed during an attempted jailbreak by three inmates. The inmates used a revolver that had been smuggled into the jail.
Joseph Marshall
Wichita Police Department
Age: 30
Length of service: 2 years
Died: Aug. 9, 1927
Marshall was shot and killed when he and his partner stopped a vehicle whose occupants they recognized as gang members. As Marshall approached the car, he was shot and killed. His partner was able to return fire and kill the suspects.
Vernon Ogden
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: Unknown
Died: July 5, 1927
Ogden was killed during a vehicle pursuit when his police motorcycle struck the side of a Frisco passenger train.
Edward Hall
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: 6 years
Died: April 10, 1925
Hall was shot and killed when he and his partner attempted to stop a vehicle. As they pulled alongside the car, the occupants opened fire, fatally wounding him.
Harrison Brown
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: 2 years
Died: Jan. 4, 1925
Brown was shot and killed when he stopped to question a man while walking his beat. Brown was the first black officer with the Wichita Police Department to be killed in the line of duty.
Robert Scudder
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: Unknown
Died: Nov. 24, 1923
Scudder was shot after responding to a disturbance at a local dance hall. As he walked up the stairs, he encountered a man coming down. He began to search the man but was shot when the suspect pulled a gun.
Charles Galloway
Wichita Police Department
Age: 39
Length of service: 8 years
Died: July 15, 1923
Galloway died after contracting blood poisoning after cutting his foot. He and other members of the department were sandbagging flooded portions of the city.
Charles Hoffman
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: 4 years
Died: Nov. 23, 1921
Hoffman was shot and killed while attempting to arrest the leader of a gang responsible for the murders of two other officers earlier in the month. The suspect had attempted to rent a vehicle from a local shop, but the owner alerted police. As Hoffman entered the store, the man pulled a gun and Hoffman lunged forward and grabbed him. During a struggle the suspect shot Hoffman and wounded another officer. A third officer killed the suspect.
Robert Fitzpatrick
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: 2 years
Died: Nov. 21, 1921
Fitzpatrick was shot and killed while attempting to arrest members of a local gang who were responsible for the murder of Officer A.L. Young a few weeks earlier. As Fitzpatrick and his partner looked inside the vehicle, the leader of the gang sped off as one of the other gang members shot Fitzpatrick.
A.L. Young
Wichita Police Department
Age: unknown
Length of service: unknown
Died: Nov. 5, 1921
Young was shot and killed when he was ambushed while walking his beat. The suspect who murdered him was the leader of a local gang that went on to kill Patrolman Robert Fitzpatrick and Detective Charles Hoffman a few weeks later.
William Ballard
Wichita Police Department
Age: unknown
Length of service: 10 years
Died: July 20, 1920
Ballard was shot and killed as he and two other officers searched a suspect. Another suspect who was hiding behind a mattress opened fire, killing Ballard and wounding one of the other officers.
Capt. Frank Griswold
Wichita Police Department
Age: Unknown
Length of service: Unknown
Died: May 23, 1915
Griswold was shot and killed when he and a detective responded to a report of a burglary at a shoe store. As they entered the store, the suspects inside opened fire, killing Griswold and wounding the detective.
William Humphries
Wichita Police Department
Age: 40
Length of service: Unknown
Died: Feb. 23, 1915
Humphries was shot and killed while attempting to question a suspect in a local pool hall. When the man was cornered by Humphries, he pulled out a handgun and opened fire, fatally wounding the detective.
Carlos King
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s office
Age: 28
Length of service: Unknown
Died: Sept. 23, 1871
King was shot and killed in what is now Harvey County by a suspect he had disarmed and thrown out of town for disturbing the peace. The suspect left, but returned after obtaining another gun. He found King and shot him to death. King is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Newton.
Contributing: The bulk of this list was written by reporter Stan Finger in 2011. It was updated by Eduardo Castillo and Sarah Moore this week.
