Trooper Ferdinand Frederick "Bud" Pribbenow

Trooper Ferdinand Frederick
Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas
Trooper Ferdinand Frederick "Bud" Pribbenow

Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas

End of Watch Saturday, July 11, 1981

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Ferdinand Frederick "Bud" Pribbenow

Trooper Ferdinand Pribbenow was shot and killed during a traffic stop near El Dorado, Kansas.

The suspect shot him before he had a chance to react. The suspect fled and was later spotted at the tollgate at the Kellogg exit in East Wichita and a pursuit ensued. About a mile into the chase, the suspect rammed the back of a van that was stopping at a light at Kellogg and Rock Road near the Towne East Shopping Mall. Officers ordered the suspect to exit his car and he responded with gunfire.

Officers returned fire, striking the suspect several times before he was taken into custody. He was convicted of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and first degree murder and sentenced to life. He was denied parole in July of 2012 but has another parole hearing in July, 2017.

Trooper Pribbenow had served with the Kansas Highway Patrol with the agency for 22 years. He was survived by his wife and five daughters.

Bio

  • Age 47
  • Tour 22 years
  • Badge 211

Incident Details

  • Cause Gunfire
  • Weapon Handgun; .357 caliber
  • Offender Convicted of first degree murder
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I had the privilege of meeting and working with Bud for the first time about two weeks before he was murdered. I remember he was a big guy and "old school". When he approached a vehicle that he had stopped he would introduce himself as he reached in to shake the driver's hand. He told me that he was starting to have problems with arthritis in his hands and was getting gold shots to treat the arthritis. When he told me that , he laughed and said he was probably worth more dead than alive because of the gold in his veins. Bud didn't wear a vest. When I asked him why he said, " Well, you know it's been my experience that about 98% of the people we stop out here are good people, it's only the other 2% that you have to worry about." Unfortunately Bud was gunned down by one of those 2%.
I will always remember Bud as the perfect example of an officer and a gentleman.

Sgt. Rick Langdon
Kansas Highway Patrol

July 12, 2021

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