# Officer Down: James Johnson - [Hoxie, Kansas]



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

10/26/2006
*Kan. sheriff is shot to death in office*

*Officer Down: James Johnson* - [Hoxie, Kansas]









The Wichita Eagle
*Biographical Info*
*Age:* 54
*Additional Info:* Sheriff James Johnson had served as the sheriff of Sheridan County for 18 years. He is survived by his wife and five children.
*I**ncident Details*

*Cause of Death:* Johnson was shot and killed while talking to a mentally ill person about having him committed. *Date of Incident:* October 26, 2006

*Kan. sheriff is shot to death in office*
By Hurst Laviana
The Wichita Eagle
Sheridan County Sheriff James Johnson was shot to death Thursday in his office in the northwest Kansas town of Hoxie.
The shooter then was killed by another member of the sheriff's department, the KBI said.
It marked the second time in less than two years that a Kansas sheriff has been shot to death, and the third time a member of a rural sheriff's department has been killed in the line of duty. ...

*Full Story: Kan. sheriff is shot to death in office*


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Mourners Gather To Honor Slain Kansas Sheriff

*APRIL MIDDLETON*
_Courtesy of the Salina Journal_

*HOXIE, Kan.--* Sheridan County retired Sheriff James Johnson's badge number Tuesday afternoon during an emotional funeral service for the sheriff who was gunned down in his office Thursday. 
"It was a fantastic and moving service," said Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski, who attended the service. "It really recognized the sheriff and honored him and his family." 
When the auditorium at Hoxie High School was full, the overflow crowd gathered in the school's gymnasium, Kochanowski said. 
He estimated the crowd at nearly 1,000. At least 62 Kansas sheriffs, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Attorney General Phill Kline and representatives from law enforcement agencies throughout Kansas were in attendance, said Jason Moses, Thomas County undersheriff. 
Mayor Lori Horesky, who counted the 54-year-old sheriff among her closest friends, spoke of his 27-year career in law enforcement -- nine as a Hoxie police officer and 18 as sheriff of the northwest Kansas county. 
"I'm going to miss his sense of humor and his laughter," Horesky said. "Jimmy was a big man with an even bigger heart." 
Johnson was killed Thursday in his office by Steven P. Reitcheck, 35, Hoxie. A deputy returned fire, killing Reitcheck. 
Just before Reitcheck pulled the gun, Johnson had persuaded him to be committed for psychological help. 
Investigators have said Reitcheck was distraught from the June 2003 death of his father in a collision with a drunken driver. 
Kochanowski said family members who spoke during the service appeared to be doing "as well as can be expected." 
"They were, of course, very emotional," he said. "They had to stop quite a few times to catch their composures." 
Those in attendance showed obvious signs of emotion throughout the ceremony, but the most emotional part of the service came at the end during a "final radio call," Kochanowski said. 
The emergency tones went across emergency radios throughout the county, then a dispatcher radioed that "Sheriff James Johnson will be 10-7 (out of service)." 
"When they did that, you could literally hear people crying throughout the audience," Kochanowski said. "It was a moving tribute." 
Johnson's reputation for being ready to help others was a theme at his funeral. 
"When others sought safety, Sheriff Johnson offered protection," Kline said. "Where some were bent on violence, Sheriff Johnson sought resolution." 
Sebelius spoke of the loss to Hoxie, a town of about 1,200 people, and to Sheridan County. 
"Freedom is not free," the governor said. "It sometimes exacts a very heavy price, and that's a lesson we're once again reminded of today." 
Johnson left his wife and six children. 
A funeral for Reitcheck, who worked as a metal fabricator, was Monday. Survivors included his mother, one brother and four sisters.

_Republished with permission of the Salina Journal._


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