Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Constable Crawford was accidentally shot and killed in a case of mistaken identity. He, the constable, and the justice of the peace were conducting a raid on an abandoned coal mine in Columbus, Kansas. Two deputies and a federal agent were also planning on conducting a raid at the same time. Neither group knew of the other group's plans and conducted the raids at the same time. Thinking each other's parties were bootleggers, the officers exchanged fire and Deputy Constable Crawford was killed and one of the deputies was wounded. A coroner's inquest exonerated all officers involved of any blame in Deputy Constable Crawford's death. The owners of the still and whiskey found in the mine were apprehended.
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BO-US-KS-1F617F96- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Constable Crawford served with the Spring Valley Township Constable's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Constable Crawford.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Constable John Crawford is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In KS, 66 of 335 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 19.7% of this state's fallen. That is 11.3 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Crawford's cause is highlighted.
How John Crawford Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Crawford is highlighted in Dec.