KHP 2025-06 Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial Services to be held May 1 and 2

In honor of National Police Week, and National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, the State of Kansas will be holding its annual Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Topeka on Friday, May 2. A candlelight vigil will take place on Thursday, May 1. The public is encouraged to attend the memorial events.

The annual Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial Candlelight Vigil, sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 3 – Topeka Chapter, will be on Thursday, May 1. The Ride for the Fallen will arrive at 7:00 p.m. outside of the Kansas Statehouse. The candlelight vigil will begin at 8:00 p.m. in the First Floor Rotunda of the Statehouse. A candle lighting ceremony will follow at the Kansas Law Enforcement Monument, which is located on the northeast quadrant of the statehouse grounds.

The annual Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony will be held on Friday, May 2 at the Statehouse, Second Floor Rotunda, at 12:00 p.m., with a wreath-laying ceremony to follow at the Kansas Law Enforcement Monument.

Two names have been added to the Kansas Law Enforcement Monument this year:

• Detective Charles Delbert Meeks, Derby Police Department, End of Watch: May 9, 1976
  Charles Delbert Meeks, age 34, served as a police officer for one year before becoming a lab investigator in 1974 with the Derby Police Department. During the late evening hours on May 5, 1976, Detective Meeks was driving to a law enforcement training activity in Liberal, Kansas to represent the Derby Police Department at a firearm shooting competition. Shortly after 9pm, in a blinding rainstorm two miles east of Bucklin on US 54 Highway, Detective Meeks’ westbound vehicle collided head on with an eastbound vehicle that had crossed the center line. Severely injured, Detective Meeks succumbed to his injuries four days later, on May 9, 1976. Detective Meeks is survived by his wife and son.

• Deputy Glenn H. Curtiss, Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office, End of Watch: October 29, 1924
  Glenn H. Curtiss, age 26, served as a deputy sheriff with the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office. In the late afternoon of October 29, 1924, the Linwood, Kansas bank was robbed by a male suspect who left town by vehicle. Deputy Curtiss, along with several citizen posse members in two different vehicles, began searching for the fleeing suspect. Two miles east of Linwood, Deputy Curtiss observed the suspect in a wooded area. As the posse members closed in on the suspect, Deputy Curtiss attempted to disarm the suspect. Following a brief struggle the armed suspect was able to shoot Deputy Curtiss. The suspect fled the scene on foot. Severely wounded, Deputy Curtiss succumbed to his gunshot wound later that evening at a Kansas City, Kansas hospital. On December 21, 1927, the suspect was apprehended in Twin Falls, Idaho and returned to Kansas where, following conviction, he was sentenced to a life sentence in the Kansas State Penitentiary. At the time of his death, Deputy Curtiss was survived by his wife, his parents, and a brother.

In honor of National Police Week and National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, the Kansas Highway Patrol joins COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors) to encourage participation in Project Blue Light. COPS is a national non-profit organization for the families of officers lost in the line of duty. As part of Project Blue Light, the Patrol is encouraging the public to place a single blue light in a window of their home or change the porch lights to blue as a reminder of the many officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. This also honors those officers who are working every day, putting their lives on the line to protect Kansans.

In 2024, 147 officers died in the line of duty in the U.S., according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. So far in 2025, as of April 21, 24 officers have died in the line of duty, in the U.S.

CONTACT: April McCollum, Public Information Officer, 785-296-6800