Type of Officer: Reserve Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 9/13/1975
Added to Memorial: 2016
Circumstances of Death: Gunshot
Reserve Police Officer James Buffum died September 13, 1975, after he and a fellow reserve officer strugled with a juvenile offender while taking the youth into custody at the scene of a disturbance. The offender continued his physical aggression towards the officers after arriving at juvenile intake, shoving Officer Buffum against a wall. After the juvenile was secured Officer Burum collapsed at the jail. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased due to a heart attack.
Panel: 4