Officer James Muhlbauer and K9 Officer Champ
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A new memorial bench honoring fallen Kansas City Officer Jim Muhlbauer was installed at Happy Rock Park in Gladstone last week.
The bench is engraved with a plaque that reads, “In memory of Jim Mulhbauer, always watching with pride!”
It was installed in a location where Muhlbauer used to watch his son playing soccer, something he “loved” according to a Kansas City Police Department tweet.
“A friend of the family came up with the idea and Jim’s family was on board with the idea,” Donna Drake, spokesperson with Kansas City police, said in an email.
Family and friends fundraised for the cost of the bench with the help of department members.
Muhlbauer, a 20-year veteran of KCPD, and his K9 partner Champ were patrolling near the intersection of Truman Road and Benton Boulevard and were killed in a February crash.
Prosecutors say 18-year-old Jerron Lightfoot was driving at 85 mph and ran a red light, striking the patrol car. The patrol vehicle crashed into a pedestrian, 52-year-old Jesse Eckes, who also died.
Lightfoot has been charged with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
The crash knocked Muhlbauer unconscious in the driver’s seat, and he was taken to an area hospital with critical injuries. Champ was in the backseat of the patrol vehicle at the time of the crash.
Muhlbauer later died at the hospital. Champ was killed at the scene.
In May, Muhlbauer was also honored at Missouri’s Fallen Officers ceremony in Jefferson City.
The name of one fallen officer was broadcast over police radios every hour for 119 hours leading up to the ceremony.