Riley County Police Department, Kansas
End of Watch: Monday, August 9, 1982
Age: 49
Tour of Duty: 22 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 9, 1982
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Committed suicide
Officer Donald Harbour was shot and killed while responding to a call from a pawn shop reporting a man attempting to sell a stolen rifle at 10:30 am.
When Officer Harbour arrived at the pawn shop, he noticed two men sitting in a car directly outside of the shop. He engaged the men and directed them to step out of the vehicle. The passenger of the vehicle then pulled out a handgun, and the driver began to drive away. The passenger and Officer Harbour exchanged fire; Officer Harbour was able to hit one of the tires and the body of the vehicle multiple times but took one return round in the chest, severing his aortic artery. An army medic happened to be nearby and rushed to Officer Harbour's aid but could not stop the bleeding, and Officer Harbour died within minutes of the shooting.
The two men in the car fled the scene, but due to the damage to their vehicle, wrecked shortly thereafter. Both bailed out of the vehicle, with the driver attempting to flee on foot and the shooter carjacking a woman and taking her hostage. The driver was apprehended after a short foot pursuit and was charged as an accessory to first-degree murder. The shooter led Riley County units, as well as State Patrol and Kansas Bureau of Investigation units, on a high-speed chase through the county. At some point, he forced the woman out of the car and continued his attempt to flee alone. However, driving down a highway, he saw that officers from a neighboring county, the State Patrol, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation had set up a massive roadblock ahead of him. At that point, he shot himself in the head, killing himself before his vehicle veered into a tree.
The pawn shop owner held the man inside the pawn shop at gunpoint, and the man was arrested when officers arrived at the scene; he was charged with burglary and attempted to sell stolen goods. The driver was charged as an accessory.
Officer Harbour had served with the Riley County Police Department for 22 years. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, one grandchild, and four sisters.