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Officers Paul Holmes, 29, and N.D. Williams, 26, were called to the Institute of Logopedics, 2400 Jardine, where Bradford E. Howell, 31, was living with his wife Becky, because Howell was armed and on his way to the Institute's personnel office. Fearing that he might be armed Becky Howell called the personnel manager, Michael Hannon, and warned him that her husband might be on his way over. Hannon called police. Holmes and Williams arrived, heard Hannon’s story and were on their way out when Howell arrived. Hannon told Howell to take a seat, then found the two police officers and led them back to his office. “I don’t want to talk to you,” Howell told the officers, and he walked out of Hannon’s office. The patrolmen followed him outside the institute’s main building and were in the circle drive in front of it when one of them noticed that Howell’s hands were in his pockets and asked him what was inside. Howell said that was none of their business. Afraid that he was armed Holmes reached for him. Howell drew one of the two guns he was carrying and fired several shots from a semi-automatic pistol. Both officers were knocked to the ground. Holmes was hit in the chest and the stomach and Williams was hit twice in the hip. Holmes was wearing a bulletproof vest that probably saved his life. Both officers returned fire while lying on the ground. Howell was hit in the chest, arm and finger. He was pronounced dead at Wesley.
That incident sparked a drive to raise mone to buy every Wichita police officer and Sedgwick County Sheriff's officer a bullet-proof vest. KFDI radio station began a "vestathon" which raised almost $45,000 for the vests. Wichita oilman Jim Hershberger gave the police department $12,500.
During this time there were racial tensions building between the minority community and the police department. A small section of the city, along the 21st Street corridor between Grove and Hillside, erupted in violence in April, 1980.
Police started passing out cards of the Kansas City Chiefs football players in August as a way of opening lines of communication between police and youth. December saw Wichita State University’ Men’s basketball team cards added to those which the officers passed out.
On November 8, 1980 Officer Paul Garofalo was slain in the line of duty near the intersection of Ninth and Washington. His partner, Officer Randy Mullikin, was wounded. Two days later Wichita police arrested and jailed a Wichita man in connection with his death.
The police department sought city approval to apply for a $1 million grant that would bring back the police motorcycle. The purpose of bringing back the motorcycles, phased out in 1973, was to increase traffic enforcement where there were the most problems, pedestrian accidents, intersection accidents, sign, signal and turn violations and street congestion.
Officer Danny Dean Laffey was killed in January, 1982, when he was struck by a car while on the scene of a disturbance at the Zanzibar, a nightclub at 3105 E. 13th Street North. The driver, Louis Beans, 18, was taken into custody and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Also included in the History Book:
21st Street Riot
Police Shootout
Officer Paul Garofalo
Police Officers taken hostage
Police Shooting
Police Motorcycles
Officer Danny Laffey
Law Enforcement Torch Run
Special Olympics
Fraternal Order of Police
Ident-A-Child Program
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