KCPD Memorial Lest We Forget
Honoring the Fallen
Officer
James Horace 'Happy' Smith
Kansas City, MO Police Dept
EOW: Thursday, June 14, 1928
Date of incident:
Age: 38
Tour: 14 years
DOB: June 29, 1889
Cause: Gunfire
Suspect: Executed by hanging

Officer James Smith was shot and fatally wounded by fleeing bank robbers.

On June 14, 1928, a group of bank robbers attempted a theft in broad daylight at the Home Trust Company on Walnut Street. Tear gas was tossed inside, forcing them to flee. In the process, they wounded five bystanders, and an older man suffered a fatal heart attack from the shock. Officers James H. Smith and Darrell Capshaw were working their posts at 11th and Walnut, and 10th and Walnut when the robbers rushed by. Officer Smith was shot and fatally wounded, but was able to shoot out the windshield of the get-away car. Officer Capshaw was also wounded as he was directing traffic. The robbers were caught several days later. Officer Smith was pronounced dead at General Hospital

Officer Smith joined the police department in 1914 and was survived by his wife, Velma Gosset Smith. A new home was gifted to the widow and family of Officer Smith. Interred: Union Cemetery. A new home at 5121 Wabash, valued at $9,000 but built at a cost of $1,600 was presented to Officer Smith's widow.

Article by Brent Marchant

Kansas City Police Memorial