'Heroes are never forgotten,' KCK mayor says in remembering deputies killed Friday
Two Wyandotte County sheriff's deputies who were mortally wounded Friday while transporting an inmate were hailed Saturday as heroes who sacrificed their lives in service to public safety.
"Let us take just one moment of silence to honor their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families," said David Alvey, mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., at a press conference at City Hall.
Alvey mourned the loss of deputies Theresa King, known as "TK," and Patrick Rohrer, whom he described as "two of our young, bright, committed sheriff's deputies" that the department lost on a "terribly tragic day."
"Deputy King and Deputy Rohrer did not just offer to us the total gift of themselves yesterday. They did it each and every day that they stepped out into the community," he said. "Heroes are never forgotten."
Rohrer, 35, and King, 44, were both shot about 11:15 a.m. Friday while transporting two inmates from a court hearing in downtown Kansas City, Kan., back to the jail just across the street. The deputies were taken to the University of Kansas Hospital, where both died of their wounds. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Details remain sketchy about what happened, but somehow the deputies were overcome by one of the inmates and shot.
The suspect, who has not been officially identified, was also shot multiple times and was taken to the hospital, where he was said to be in stable condition.
Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Terry Zeigler said homicide detectives are working hard on the case and will be meeting in the coming days with the Wyandotte County District Attorney's office, but he didn't know when charges would be filed.
Sources have confirmed the suspect is Antoine Fielder, a 30-year-old with a long history of alleged criminal behavior. He was being held in Wyandotte County on several criminal charges and has also been charged with murder in Jackson County in a separate case.
Rohrer had been with the department for seven years and had moved to the court transport division in January. King had been with the department for 13 years and was also part of the court transport division. Both had families; King had two grown children and a young daughter and Rohrer had two young children.
"I will tell you these were two bright and intelligent, wonderful personalities," Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office Maj. Kelli Bailiff said at the press conference. "They came to work every day with a smile, willing to help out, willing to do anything. It's a tremendous, great loss to our agency."
Bailiff conceded that Wyandotte County's law enforcement agencies are reeling from a series of tragedies, including the shooting death of Kansas City, Kan., police detective Brad Lancaster in May 2016 and the shooting death of Kansas City, Kan., police captain Robert Melton in June 2016.
"It seems like Wyandotte County has really been hit hard recently," she said. "We just ask that everyone first of all keep everyone in your prayers, from the families to our community members, to our deputies to their families."
She and Alvey said now is a time for the community to try to bond and heal, which can start at a candlelight vigil scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday in front of City Hall, 701 North 7th St. in downtown Kansas City, Kan.
Bailiff said a credit union fund will be set up soon for people to donate to help the families of the slain deputies, and that information will be provided publicly later.
Bailiff said the investigation into what happened is continuing, but the officers followed the established protocol for transporting inmates.
"The protocol has been in place for a long time and from what I observed and from what I believe the investigation will show is they followed proper procedure," she said of the deputies. "We always evaluate procedures, but we did confirm that they did follow proper procedure."
Two inmates were being transported from the Wyandotte County Correctional and Court Services Building on 7th Street. Video cameras on the building have footage that will be reviewed, and all Wyandotte County sheriff's deputies also have body cameras.
The deputies were transporting two individuals prior to the shooting. Bailiff said the second inmate, who was not identified, was unharmed.
This story was originally published June 16, 2018 at 12:56 PM with the headline "'Heroes are never forgotten,' KCK mayor says in remembering deputies killed Friday."