Overland Park to name street after police officer Mike Mosher, who was slain in May
The city of Overland Park is renaming a street for police officer Mike Mosher, who was killed in the line of duty in May.
Monday night, the City Council unanimously agreed to change the name of 123rd Street, between Metcalf Avenue and Blue Valley Parkway, to Mike Mosher Boulevard. That section of street is near the spot where Mosher died in a shootout with a suspect.
“It’s a great idea. I’m excited that we can honor Mike in a timely manner,” Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez said at Monday’s meeting. “It was the ultimate sacrifice. Mike’s a hero. And I just want to thank everybody for the hard work that’s gone into this.”
Mosher, a 14 1/2-year veteran of the Overland Park Police Department, was on his way to work May 3 when he saw a possible hit and run at 123rd and Antioch Road. Mosher stopped to investigate and told dispatchers that the suspect, 38-year-old Philip Carney, got out of his car and confronted him. Video from the scene shows Carney pulled out a gun. Both he and Mosher fired shots, and both died.
Mosher is the second Overland Park police officer to die while on the job. The first, Officer Deanna Rose, died in 1985 after the driver of a vehicle she had pulled over on suspicion of intoxication ran her over.
This spring, the city held three days of memorial events for Mosher. Councilman Paul Lyons said on Monday that the City Council granted preliminary approval for the name change, and final approval is still needed. He said the city is studying other ways to honor the officer.
