Police Memorial Service set for May 23
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will honor its 119 officers killed in the line of duty throughout the department’s history with a Memorial Service beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 23, in front of Police Headquarters at 1125 Locust St.
Locust Street will be closed between 11th and 12th streets during the service.
The ceremony will include an honor guard, a 21-gun salute, the KCPD Color Guard, bagpipers, a flyover by the police helicopter, and a riderless horse representing fallen officers. Mary Faulkner and Kansas City Kansas Police Officer Nathaniel Faulkner, widow and son of fallen KCPD Officer Stephen Faulkner, will speak about their family member’s loss. Several other surviving family members of fallen officers will be in attendance.
Officer Christian Singleton will read the names of all 119 KCPD officers killed in the line of duty – the first in 1881 and the last in 2001. There will be 119 flags on display at the ceremony representing each one of these officers. For 119 hours preceding the service, dispatchers have read one officer’s name per hour over the police radio system. The last officer’s name, Craig Schultz, will be read immediately before the ceremony begins Thursday.
In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place inside the Headquarters Community Room. A reception will follow in the Community Room. The public is invited to attend.