KCPD Memorial Lest We Forget
Honoring the Fallen
Officer
Leroy Van Meter
Kansas City, MO Police Dept
EOW: Monday, January 23, 1933
Age: 35
DOB: May 30, 1894
Tour of Duty: 9 years
Cause: Gunshot
Suspect:

Officer Leroy Van Meter was shot and fatally wounded when he entered a shoe store, inadvertently interrupting an armed robbery in progress.

Officer VanMeter was on duty, on January 23rd, 1933, at 4:40 pm when he entered the Nunn-Bush shoe store at 102 E. 10th Street. Officer Van Meter was friendly with the store owners and managers in the area, including Leo C. Castle, the manager of the Nunn-Bush store. When Officer Van Meter entered the store at he spotted Castle lying on the floor in the rear of the store with his hands tied. The robber was leaving the store when VanMeter entered. He ordered him to hold up his hands, the robber then shot him pointblank in the face. He fell and the robber fled. Officer VanMeter was taken to General Hospital where he died thirty minutes later.

Officer VanMeter, 34, joined the department March 17, 1924, was with the agency for nine years, and was survived by his wife, Ruth, and daughter.

Article by Brent Marchant

Kansas City Police Memorial