Kenneth Reid Lester
Agency patch
Police Officer

Kenneth Reid Lester

Richmond Police Department — Richmond, IN
Accident
End of Watch February 10, 2020
Age 62
Tour of Duty 16 yrs
The Vigil Panel 171 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Kenneth Lester succumbed to injuries sustained in an automobile crash on February 17th, 1995, while responding to an alarm call.

He was responding to the call with his lights activated but no siren. As he approached the intersection of South 8th Street and South H Street a tractor-trailer that was driving in the left lane moved to the right lane. As Officer Lester overtook the tractor-trailer, it suddenly attempted to make a left turn in front of him. His patrol car became stuck underneath the trailer, causing him to suffer debilitating head and internal injuries.

Officer Lester required around-the-clock care for the next 25 years. He passed away from complications of the original injuries on February 10th, 2020.

Officer Lester had served with the Richmond Police Department for 16 years at the time of his crash.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, two children, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-7A87308F
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.
Police Officer Lester gave the Richmond Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Richmond community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Lester.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Richmond, Wayne County, IN
Platform Identity rpd.wayne.in.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 10, 2020
Tour of Duty 16 yrs
Age 62
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Automobile crash

Police Officer Kenneth Reid Lester 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 IN, 151 of 503 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Richmond Police Department, 2 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Richmond Police Department
2
of 6 officers
33.3% Accident
IN — Statewide
151
of 503 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kenneth Reid Lester's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Kenneth Reid Lester Compares

Age at Death
62
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
16
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Kenneth Reid Lester is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location