Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Dan De Kraai was accidentally shot and killed during a break while participating in weapons training for the agency's Special Response Team at the Neely School.
Officer De Kraai and other officers were participating in training scenarios using Simunitions. During a break, Officer De Kraai and another officer replaced the Simunitions weapons with their service weapons before going to a nearby convenience store.
When they returned to the training area, Officer De Kraai asked the other officer to shoot him with a Simunition round so he could experience how it felt. Forgetting that he had transitioned back to his service weapon, the other officer fired a single live round, fatally striking Officer De Kraai in the back.
Officer De Kraai was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wound.
Officer De Kraai had served with the St. Joseph Police Department for six years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and young daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-A05AF532- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer De Kraai gave the St. Joseph Police Department 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the St. Joseph community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer De Kraai.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Dan D. De Kraai is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 29.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At St. Joseph Police Department, 5 of 13 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 38.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Dan D. De Kraai's cause is highlighted.
How Dan D. De Kraai Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Dan D. De Kraai is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
12 officers from St. Joseph Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
