Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, Kansas
End of Watch: Thursday, October 31, 1974
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: D-16
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: October 31, 1974
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Detective Vance Johnson was shot and killed by a subject attempting to escape from the Sedgwick County Court House in Wichita, Kansas.
The suspect, 30, charged with aggravated battery, threw hot coffee in his face, grabbed his gun, and shot him. Before he was captured three hours later, he shot and critically wounded a policeman and shot two deputies, critically wounding one and seriously wounding the other.
The subject was not handcuffed when he was escorted from the jail to the courthouse. The Sedgwick County Sheriff, as well as several other law enforcement agencies throughout our nation, made it mandatory, "All prisoners had to be handcuffed."
The suspect was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, and 27 felonies resulting from kidnappings, assaults, stealing cars, and several other charges during his three-hour rampage. On March 21, 1975, the suspect was convicted of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and sentenced to life plus 15 years. Other convictions resulted in a 1 to 5-year term, a 3 to 10-year term, and a 5 to 20-year term. In August of 2005, he had a parole hearing. Result unknown.
Detective Johnson had served with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office for three years. He was survived by his wife and children.