South Dakota has lost 58 officers since 1884, including Moody County Chief Deputy Ken Prorok

Prerana Sannappanavar, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Updated ·6 min read

Moody County Chief Deputy Kenneth Prorok lost his life in the line of duty about two weeks ago, when he was struck by a suspect’s vehicle during a police chase and died on scene.

Throughout the years, dozens of South Dakota law enforcement officers have lost their lives while fulfilling their responsibility to protect the larger public, and some died in service even before South Dakota became a state.

Of the 58 officers who have died since 1884, the highest number of deaths have been tied to gunfire, according to the South Dakota Line of Duty Deaths on the Officer Down Memorial Page, a national nonprofit focused on honoring America's fallen law enforcement officers. The second-highest cause of death has been automobile crashes and the third-highest is tied between assaults and officers struck by vehicles.

South Dakota Highway patrol officer leads next group of law enforcement into Prorok’s funeral on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 at Dakota State Fieldhouse in Madison, South Dakota.
South Dakota Highway patrol officer leads next group of law enforcement into Prorok’s funeral on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 at Dakota State Fieldhouse in Madison, South Dakota.

More: Joseph Hoek pleads not guilty to murder for death of Moody County chief deputy

Here is a list of fallen officers in South Dakota by year, according to the nonprofit:

Deputy Sheriff John "Jack" O'Harra

Agency: Lawrence County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Feb. 14, 1884Cause of death: Gunfire

City Marshal John Tyler Pierce

Agency: Mitchell Department of Public SafetyDate: April 9, 1884Cause of death: Gunfire

Town Marshal Billy Wilson

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: Nov. 6, 1885Cause of death: Gunfire

Constable James H. Burns

Agency: Fairburn Police DepartmentDate: July 11, 1889Cause of death: Gunfire

Policeman Clifford A. Hawley

Agency: Huron Police DepartmentDate: Sept. 7, 1909Cause of death: Gunfire

Policeman Daniel Passage

Agency: Andover Police DepartmentDate: July 29, 1916Cause of death: Gunfire

Patrolman James Hawkes

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: Dec. 28, 1916Cause of death: Gunfire

Patrolman Joseph John Daly

Agency: Aberdeen Police DepartmentDate: Aug. 16, 1919Cause of death: Automobile crash

Marshal Walter W. Wood

Agency: Dallas Marshal’s OfficeDate: Feb. 25, 1921Cause of death: Electrocuted

Night Watchman Clarence F. Berry

Agency: Leola Police DepartmentDate: Dec. 12, 1921Cause of death: Gunfire

Night Captain Edward Pike

Agency: Sioux Falls Police DepartmentDate: Sept. 23, 1922Cause of death: Gunfire

Sheriff Isaiah C. "Ike" Fulker

Agency: Brown County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: July 1, 1923Cause of death: Gunfire

Sheriff Hugh Lee McNamara

Agency: Hyde County Sheriff’s Offic,eDate: April 30, 1926Cause of death: Gunfire

Deputy Sheriff James J. Boney

Agency: Brule County Sheriff’s DepartmentDate: Sept. 6, 1926Cause of death: Gunfire

Town Marshal Jack O'Leary

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: Nov. 6, 1926Cause of death: Struck by vehicle

Deputy State Sheriff Charles A. Halpin

Agency: South Dakota Department of Criminal InvestigationDate: May 13, 1927Cause of death: Gunfire

Sheriff Clarendon D. Miller

Agency: Brule County Sheriff’s DepartmentDate: Sept. 6, 1931Cause of death: Heart attack

Policeman Arthur Christian Back

Agency: De Smet Police DepartmentDate: Sept. 13, 1932Cause of death: Gunfire

Marshal George Shocker

Agency: Emery Police DepartmentDate: Sept. 24, 1935Cause of death: Gunfire

Captain George A. "Dick" Saville

Agency: Sioux Falls Police DepartmentDate: Oct. 6, 1935Cause of death: Assault

Warden Eugene Reiley

Agency: South Dakota Department of CorrectionsDate: March 6, 1936Cause of death: Gunfire

Officer Milan Miller

Agency: Lead Police DepartmentDate: Nov. 22, 1938Cause of death: Gunfire

Sheriff Ole Alexander Solberg

Agency: Brown County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Feb. 25, 1939Cause of death: Automobile crash

Marshal Alf A. Amundsen

Agency: Alcester Police DepartmentDate: Sept. 10, 1940Cause of death: Assault

Sheriff Melbourne Lewis

Agency: Grant County Sheriff’s DepartmentDate: July 30, 1941Cause of death: Gunfire

Patrolman Bernard Benson

Agency: South Dakota Highway PatrolDate: Sept. 17, 1941Cause of death: Automobile crash

Patrolman Alva H. Burnett

Agency: Pierre Police DepartmentDate: June 11, 1944Cause of death: Gunfire

Sheriff Dave Malcolm

County: Butte County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Jan. 24, 1946Cause of death: Gunfire

Agent Thomas R. Matthews

Agency: South Dakota Department of Criminal InvestigationDate: Jan. 24, 1946Cause of death: Gunfire

Policeman Clyde Rogers

Agency: White Lake Police DepartmentDate: Feb. 3, 1948Cause of death: Assault

Sheriff Walter Albert Salzsiedler

Agency: Campbell County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: April 25, 1949Cause of death: Heart attack

Correction Officer Edward Jaworski

Agency: South Dakota Department of CorrectionsDate: Sept. 6, 1951Cause of death: Assault

Police Officer Albert August Hubsch

Agency: Webster Police DepartmentDate: Dec. 5, 1954Cause of death: Struck by vehicle

Patrolman Elmer B. Simons

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: April 2, 1955Cause of death: Heart attack

Patrolman Henry N. "Brownie" Russell

Agency: South Dakota Highway PatrolDate: Nov. 19, 1958Cause of death: Automobile crash

Police Officer William J. Stender

Agency: Miller Police DepartmentDate: May 15, 1963Cause of death: Automobile crash

Conservation Officer George Bernard Driscoll

Agency: South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and ParksDate: April 26, 1964Cause of death: Drowned

Deputy Chief of Police Virgil Laurence Deyo

Agency: Huron Police DepartmentDate: Nov. 29, 1966Cause of death: Gunfire

Reserve Officer Daniel E. Wickard

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: June 9, 1972Cause of death: Drowned

Police Officer James Thomas Sawyer

Agency: Custer Police DepartmentDate: June 13, 1972Cause of death: Gunfire

Trooper Verlyn Lamonte Mettler

Agency: South Dakota Highway PatrolDate: March 9, 1976Cause of death: Gunfire

Chief of Police William Bearshield

Agency: Gregory Police DepartmentDate: July 26, 1976Cause of death: Stabbed

Conservation Officer Ronald Lee Brandt

Agency: South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and ParksDate: Dec. 20, 1979Cause of death: Automobile crash

Trooper Steven Eric Hoffman

Agency: South Dakota Highway PatrolDate: March12, 1980Cause of death: Struck by vehicle

Sergeant Thomas Lloyd Calliess

Agency: Huron Police DepartmentDate: March 30, 1982Cause of death: Stabbed

Sheriff Matthew Victor Schofield

Agency: Haakon County Sheriff’s DepartmentDate: March 21, 1985Cause of death: Automobile crash

Trooper Oren Stuart Hindman

Agency: South Dakota Highway PatrolDate: May 2, 1985Cause of death: Stabbed

Patrolman Leslie P. Hollers

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: Sept. 16, 1985Cause of death: Vehicular assault

Parole Agent Russell Clarence Anderson

Agency: South Dakota Department of CorrectionsDate: March 3, 1998Cause of death: Automobile crash

Deputy Sheriff William Paul Davis

Agency: Moody County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Nov. 3, 2003Cause of death: Struck by vehicle

Sheriff John W. Bechtold, Jr.

Agency: Campbell County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Aug. 4, 2004Cause of death: Heart attack

Deputy Sheriff Chad Lee Mechels

Agency: Turner County Sheriff’s DepartmentDate: March 15, 2009Cause of death: Gunfire

Correctional Officer Ronald E. "RJ" Johnson

Agency: South Dakota Department of CorrectionsDate: April 12, 2011Cause of death: Assault

Police Officer James Ryan McCandless

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: Aug. 2, 2011Cause of death: Gunfire

Police Officer Nicholas Keegan Armstrong

Agency: Rapid City Police DepartmentDate: Aug. 6, 2011Cause of death: Gunfire

Chief Deputy Lee Russell Weber

Agency: Hughes County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: July 3, 2020Cause of death: Drowned

Correctional Officer David Henry

Agency: Pennington County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Sept. 14, 2021Cause of death: COVID-19

Correctional Officer Braxton Hofman

Agency: Lake County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Feb. 7, 2022Cause of death: COVID-19

Chief Deputy Sheriff Ken Prorok

Agency: Moody County Sheriff’s OfficeDate: Feb. 2, 2024Cause of death: Struck by vehicle during a chase

Correction: A previous version of this story listed the death of Charles A. Halpin twice, once under the South Dakota Office of the State Sheriff and once under the Division of Criminal Investigation. This made the overall count of fallen South Dakota officers as 59 between 1884 and 2024, but the accurate count is 58. The story and headline have been corrected to reflect this change.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty