Roll of Honor
Incident
Corporal Kolby Baber died from complications as a result of contracting COVID-19 while serving at the Community Correctional Center at West Van Dorn Street in Lincoln.
Corporal Baber had served with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for eight years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Corporal Kolby Lee Baber died on August 17, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 31.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NE-0FBD1AF5- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Corporal Baber gave the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Lincoln community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corporal Baber.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Corporal Kolby Lee Baber is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NE, 5 of 151 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.3% of this state's fallen. That is 5.8 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, 1 of 7 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 14.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kolby Lee Baber's cause is highlighted.
How Kolby Lee Baber Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Kolby Lee Baber is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Nebraska Department of Correctional Services are honored on badge.nw.
