Kenneth B. Muir
Agency patch
Marshal

Kenneth B. Muir

Felonious
End of Watch February 13, 1983
Age 53
Tour of Duty 24 yrs
Badge 5200
The Vigil Panel 126 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Marshal Kenneth Muir and Deputy Marshal Robert Cheshire were shot and killed at 5:45 p.m. while attempting to serve an arrest warrant on a man for parole violation and income tax evasion. The suspect was traveling in a vehicle with his son and another man when they were stopped at a roadblock on Stutsman County Road 68 about 1/2 mile north of Medina. All three men were armed with mini-14 rifles. After a 20-minute standoff, a gun battle began between law enforcement, the suspect, and the two other men. During the shootout, Deputy Marshal Chesire and Marshal Muir were mortally wounded. The main suspect escaped but his accomplices were wounded, apprehended, and sentenced to life in prison. Four months later the main suspect shot and killed Sheriff Harold Matthews, of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department, Arkansas. Sheriff Matthews was participating in a raid in an attempt to arrest the man and was able to shoot and kill the suspect before succumbing to his own mortal wounds.

Survivors

Marshal Muir was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-486DF7AB
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

24 years. You could have gone home.
Marshal Muir gave the United States Department of Justice 24 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Marshal Muir.

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

Agency

Type Federal Agency
Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usms.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 13, 1983
Tour of Duty 24 yrs
Age 53
Badge Number 5200
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Rifle

Marshal Kenneth B. Muir is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In DC, 754 of 1,418 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.2% of this state's fallen. That is 53.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service, 251 of 313 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 80.2% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service
251
of 313 officers
80.2% Felonious
DC — Statewide
754
of 1,418 officers
53.2% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kenneth B. Muir's cause is highlighted.

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

How Kenneth B. Muir Compares

Age at Death
53
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
24
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Kenneth B. Muir is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Kenneth B. Muir was killed by rifle.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909