An off-duty police officer in Kansas who died after exchanging gunfire with a suspect in a hit-and-run crash on his way to work on April 3 has died, officials confirmed.
A statement from the Overland Park Police Department identified the officer as Mike Mosher, a 14-year decorated veteran of the department. The president of the Overland Park Fraternal Order of Police, he was also Overland Park’s “Officer of the Year” in 2019.
Mosher, 37, is survived by his wife and daughter.
“It’s a difficult, difficult thing to know that one of our officers is no longer with us,” Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez said. “He was proud to be a police officer. He loved what he did and he was damn good at it.”
Prior to the shootout, Mosher had radioed to dispatch about a hit-and-run crash he witnessed at West 143rd Street and Antioch Road, and followed the suspect north on Antioch Road before the suspect stopped near West 123rd Street.
Mosher, who had a firearm, approached the vehicle and an altercation occurred with the suspect, who also had a firearm. Gunshots were exchanged and both the officer and the suspect were hit.
The suspect, who hasn’t yet been identified, died at the scene, while the critically wounded officer was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Lacy, who was also a personal friend of Mosher, described him as a “good officer, a good friend,” and “a firecracker” who “did his job all the way up to the end and was a true gentleman.”
On May 4, Mayor Carl Gerlach expressed his sympathy for the fallen officer.
“His tragic death this evening is a reminder that Mike, and our police officers, who pledge to serve and protect Overland Park, face great dangers and continue to serve with honor and commitment,” he said.
The incident is under review by Johnson County investigators.
Mosher is the second Overland Park Police Department officer to be killed in the line of duty. Deanna Rose, after which Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead was named, was killed during a traffic stop in 1985.
