Iowa Concerns of Police Survivors

Reserve Officer Bill Sutherlin was shot and killed after locating a fugitive who was the focus of a police manhunt.

Officer Sutherlin and several other officers went to the aid of a state trooper who had a suspected car thief trapped in a corn field. Officer Sutherlin had radioed for help saying the suspect was holding a gun on him. Minutes later when the suspect was captured he told where Officer Sutherlin's body could be found. He had been shot through the head.

Officer Sutherlin was a veteran of WWII and had served as a volunteer reserve officer with the Fairfield Police Department for six years.

Lieutenant Pat Moore was shot and killed by one of two men after they robbed the First National Bank of $52,000.

Police arrived at the bank just as the suspects were driving away. As they pursued the vehicle, one of the suspects jumped out five blocks away and fled on foot into a residential area. Police continued to pursue the vehicle for over an hour, which ended when the vehicle crashed through a fence in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The suspect fled the scene on foot and escaped.

Lieutenant Moore and another officer were searching the area where the first suspect fled when a citizen told them that she had seen a man with a bag run into a nearby home. It was discovered that the suspect had taken a 74-year-old woman hostage in that home. As Lieutenant Moore entered the home to negotiate, the suspect shot him in the head and wounded the other officer.

The suspect ran from the home just as FBI agents were arriving on the scene. The agents shot the suspect several times as he ran toward the home of a retired dentist. The dentist saw the suspect coming, stepped out onto his porch, and shot the suspect in the abdomen with his .22 caliber rifle. The suspect shot the dentist in the shoulder and then crashed through his glass front door, where he collapsed. The suspect, a former inmate at the Colorado State Penitentiary, died at the hospital.

It is unknown if the other suspect was ever apprehended.

Lieutenant Moore was a United States WWII veteran and had served with the Council Bluffs Police Department for 28 years. He was survived by his four children.

Officer Michael Farnsworth was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a suspect connected to the armed robbery of a Chicago police officer's motel room.

The suspect was convicted of second-degree murder but released after only 16 years. The suspect then went on to become a guest lecturer at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. When citizens found out about this atrocity, the program he was lecturing for was suspended.

Officer Farnsworth had served with the Davenport Police Department for less than one year. He was survived by his wife and newborn baby.

Captain Joseph Kruse was stabbed to death by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.

Captain Kruse was stabbed in the heart during a scuffle with the inmate in which three other officers were also injured.

The inmate, who had been in prison since 1967, was serving a 16-year sentence for kidnapping a 9-year-old girl and committing lascivious acts with her. He was convicted of second-degree murder for killing Captain Kruse on May 29th, 1973, and had 90 years added to his sentence.

Captain Kruse had served with the Iowa Department of Corrections since January 1955 and was promoted to captain in 1968. He was survived by his wife and five children.

Deputy Marshal Dick McKinney was shot and killed during a robbery attempt on 11th Avenue, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He had just left the federal office building when he encountered a group of men who robbed him at gunpoint and then stole his wallet.

As Deputy Marshal McKinney attempted to take action one of the men opened fire on him with a .22 caliber handgun, striking him in the heart.

He was able to drive himself to the hospital but died a short time after arriving.

Deputy Marshal McKinney had served with the United States Marshals Service for 10 years. He was survived by his wife.

Officer Philip Adams succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was struck by a vehicle while operating a portable scale checkpoint near the interchange for Highway 30 and I-29 in Harrison County.

He was walking back to his patrol car when he was struck.

Officer Adams had served with the Iowa Motor Vehicle Enforcement for 15 years. He is survived by his wife and four children.

Chief Deputy Sheriff George Williamson was killed in an automobile collision while responding to Superior after receiving reports of a 4-year-old boy who had been struck by a car.

He and another deputy were driving on a gravel road, with lights and sirens activated, when they collided with another car at the intersection of 170th Street and 330th Avenue around 7:15 p.m. Chief Deputy Williamson and the driver of the other vehicle were both killed in the collision. The other deputy suffered serious injuries.

Chief Deputy Williamson was a United States Navy Korea War veteran. He had served with the Dickinson County Sheriff's Office for five years and had previously served with the Spencer Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, mother, and two sisters.

Patrolman Warren Hodgins was killed in a vehicle crash on U.S. Route 70, near West Liberty, while en route to a law enforcement convention in which he was representing his department.

Patrolman Hodgins had served with the Sioux City Police Department for five years. He was survived by his wife and four children.

Reserve Deputy Sheriff Howard Holdefer suffered a fatal heart attack as he and several other deputies attempted to arrest three intoxicated men.

The suspects began to struggle and kick during the arrest. During the struggle Reserve Deputy Holdefer suffered the heart attack.

Police Officer Ronald Roberts succumbed to injuries sustained over two years earlier when he was struck by an Omaha, Nebraska, patrol car that had chased a suspect into Council Bluffs.

Officer Roberts was directing traffic in the rain when the incident occurred at an intersection on Broadway. He remained in the hospital from the time of the incident until his death.

Marshal Douglas Bell was shot and killed with his own weapon after stopping a stolen vehicle outside of Keota. He had pursued the vehicle on Highway 77 for about three miles outside the town limits before the vehicle stopped.

Fearing that Marshal Bell would discover that the vehicle was stolen, the driver attacked him as the marshal wrote a ticket. He was able to gain control of Marshal Bell's service revolver and shot him six times, reloaded it, and then shot him three more times.

On August 28, 1979, a 21 year-old Iowa Penitentiary inmate was charged with Marshal Bell's murder. He was serving a 10 year sentence for a 1978 kidnapping conviction. He was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life on July 29, 1980.

Marshal Bell had served with the Keota Police Department for two weeks. He is survived by his father, who was a retired sheriff's deputy, his mother, and brother.

Patrolman Gabriel LaFromboise was killed when his patrol car collided with a tractor trailer during a high-speed pursuit. The vehicle he was pursuing passed the semi, forcing it to the shoulder of the road. The semi's trailer broke free and struck Patrolman LaFromboise's patrol car.

The suspect he was chasing has since been released from prison on parole.

Patrolman LaFromboise had served with the LaPorte City Police Department for eight months. He was survived by his wife and three children.

Patrolman Brian Melton was shot and killed at the corner of Bowdoin and Grandview Ave. after he and another officer arrested two men for public intoxication.

While walking one of the men to the patrol wagon, a scuffle ensued, and an officer's handgun came free from its holster. The suspect picked up the gun and shot Patrolman Melton in the chest.

The subject was charged with first-degree murder but was acquitted as the defense portrayed him as being the victim of police brutality.

Patrolman Melton had served with the Des Moines Police Department for four years. He was survived by his wife and two children.

Deputy Sheriff Stevan Owen was killed in an automobile accident while on duty.

While on patrol during the evening hours of June 4 Deputy Owens squad car was struck head on by another vehicle. The Iowa State Patrol investigated the accident and determined that the driver of the other vehicle crossed the center line and struck the squad car head on. Both drivers lost their lives as a result of the accident.

Deputy Owen had served with the Howard County Sheriff's Department for only six months. He was survived by his wife and son.

Officer Dennis Hill was shot and killed after he and his partner responded to a shots fired call at Thirteenth Street and Mondamin Avenue at 4 am.

As they approached the scene in the patty wagon, they pulled up next to the victim. The suspect was hiding in nearby bushes and immediately opened fire three times with a shotgun, striking Officer Hill in the head. Other officers responded to the "Officer Down" call, and another shootout ended with one other officer being wounded and the suspect being killed.

Officer Hill was a United States Army Vietnam and Iowa National Guard veteran and had served with the Des Moines Police Department for five years. He was survived by his wife, two young children, and his parents. His father also served with the Des Moines Police Department.

Chief Michael Smit was killed in an automobile accident while returning from the city of Gladbrook, where he had gone to assist with searching for vandals. While returning to Garwin he encountered heavy fog and struck a horse that was standing in the roadway.

Police Officer Rusty Hewitt was killed in an automobile crash during a high-speed pursuit on Iowa Highway 163, two miles east of Prairie City, at about 11:45 pm.

He had joined the pursuit to assist the Iowa State Police and was attempting to position his vehicle in front of the suspect's car in order to slow it down. His vehicle was struck broadside during the maneuver and both he and his passenger were killed.

Officer Hewitt had served as a part-time officer with the Prairie City Police Department for only seven months. He was survived by his son, parents, brother, and grandparents.

Jailer Harry Davis was shot and killed by a man who opened fire on the county jail's lobby using a high powered rifle at approximately 1:15 am.

Jailer Davis was sitting in the lobby when the man entered and opened fire from outside of the building in Marshalltown, firing a rifle and a revolver through the front windows. The subject was captured later in the day and charged with first-degree murder.

It is believed he mistook Jailer Davis for the county sheriff, whom he held a grudge against.

Jailer Davis had served with the Marshall County Sheriff's Office as a part-time jailer for only two weeks. He was survived by his wife and three children.

Correctional Officer Gerald Featheringill died at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison when he fell from a prison wall after stepping on a patch of ice.

Officer Featheringill was a military veteran and had served with the Iowa Department of Corrections for 23 years. He was survived by his wife.

Police Officer Bobby Barrickman was killed in an automobile crash while on patrol at 9 pm.

Another vehicle crossed over the center line and struck his patrol car head-on. Officer Barrickman succumbed to massive chest injuries.

Officer Barrickman was a United States Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and served with the Newton Police Department for five years.