Police Officer Donald R. Harbour

Police Officer Donald R. Harbour

Riley County Police Department, Kansas

End of Watch Monday, August 9, 1982

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Donald R. Harbour

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.

Bio

  • Age 49
  • Tour 22 years
  • Badge Not available

Incident Details

  • Cause Gunfire
  • Weapon Gun; Unknown type
  • Offender Committed suicide

investigation

Most Recent Reflection

View all 18 Reflections

Don,
I was driving around Manhattan the other day (For those that don't know, Manhattan and Ogden are in the same county) and pulled into a park. When I looked up I saw a sign, The Don Harbour Park! The memories instantly started flooding back even though it has been just over 40 years! Some horrible and alot of great ones. I grew up in Ogden. You went above and beyond serving your community, I remember days that were bad weather, you would drive around and pick up the grade school kids and give them a ride to school. You would be close to the school when it was time to get out keeping an eye on things and making sure the children were safe. You always kept an eye on the most innocent.
The horrible memory is, I was also there that day. I was one of those children you kept an eye on. I was 11 years old, it was still summer break and I was out riding my bike. I was directly across the street infront of the American Legion. I remember hearing a commotion so I stopped, it was Don, giving instructions to get out of the vehicle. They didn't comply and was backing up onto main street very fast and were trying to get away. When the first shots were fired I jumped off my bike and laid on the ground. At first after the shooting stopped I didn't know that Don had been hit. He was laying on the ground in the middle of main street and had made several shots from that position. After the shooting had stopped, Deborah Andrews ran over to him because he was still laying on the ground but now his head was down. She rolled him over and started screaming for help, and that's when the Medic ran over. I will never forget him!!! He is a TRUE Hero!!!!

Rebecca Fugate
Friend- Community Kid He Protected

December 20, 2022

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