Sign installed, renaming highway after fallen Independence officer
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Friday morning, crews installed a new sign along Missouri’s 291 Highway in honor of a fallen Independence officer.
Missouri state Rep. Robert Sauls joined Officer Blaize Madrid-Evans‘ family as they officially renamed a stretch of the highway after the 22-year-old.
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The Blaize Madrid-Evans Memorial Highway now runs along 291 Highway from 78 Highway to 24 Highway.
Madrid-Evans’ family received a small version of the highway sign to keep.
The fallen Independence officer died in a shootout in 2021 while trying to serve an arrest warrant. He had just begun his career in law enforcement, graduating from the police academy just two months before his death.
Sauls, who represents the Independence area in the Missouri House, introduced a bill in 2023 to rename the highway after Madrid-Evans.
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“I think it’s important to honor fallen heroes. I think that’s the important part of this,” Sauls told FOX4 in February.
Madrid-Evans has received a number of posthumous honors, including the Medal of Valor and Missouri’s Red, White, and Blue Heart Award. His name was also added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum.
