266 officers now on Kansas Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
TOPEKA — The 29th Annual Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony will be held Friday, May 6, at noon on the south steps of the Statehouse grounds in Topeka. Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. and Attorney General Derek Schmidt will present remarks at the ceremony honoring three law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Prior to this event, the 16th Annual Candlelight Vigil will be held by the Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary Topeka No. 3 at the memorial located in the northeast corner of the Statehouse grounds at 8:30 p.m., Thursday, May 5.

Franklin County sheriff’s deputy Samuel A. Smith was killed en route to a domestic disturbance call near the Pomona on July 23, 2010. Deputy Smith lost control of his patrol vehicle, left the roadway, and struck a tree.

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks ranger Luke D. Nihart was killed when the all-terrain vehicle he was operating went out of control and crashed as he was working an event at Tuttle Creek State Park in the early morning hours of June 26, 2010.

Santa Fe Railroad special officer George W. Greenstreet was struck by a train and killed the evening of Monday, June 17, 1912, while looking for thieves who had been stealing from rail cars in the train yard at Edgerton.

With the addition of Deputy Smith, Ranger Nihart, and Special Officer Greenstreet, the names of 266 law enforcement officers are included on the Kansas Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

In the event of inclement weather, the May 6 memorial ceremony will be held in the south wing of the first floor of the Capitol. For more information, phone Ken Gorman at 785-233-1361 or Sherriene Jones-Sontag at 785-368-7138.
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