Cowley County Sheriff's Office, Kansas
End of Watch: Monday, January 28, 1907
Age: 53
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Inadvertent)
Date of Incident: December 6, 1906
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Not available
Sheriff Welfelt succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound received almost two months earlier while attempting to arrest a murder suspect. The Sheriff had borrowed a pistol to make the arrest and didn't realize that the trigger spring had been modified for only a slight trigger pull. As he drew his weapon the pistol discharged and the round struck him in the upper thigh, exiting out near his knee. Sheriff Welfelt completed the arrest and the suspect was sentenced to life for the original murder.
Sheriff Welfelt had lost his re-election bid prior to the shooting. He succumbed to his wound after he was out of office.