Donald R. Harbour
Agency patch
Police Officer

Donald R. Harbour

Riley County Police Department — Manhattan, KS
Felonious
End of Watch August 9, 1982
Age 49
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
The Vigil Panel 126 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Donald Harbour was shot and killed while responding to a call from a pawn shop reporting a man attempting to sell a stolen rifle at 10:30 am. When Officer Harbour arrived at the pawn shop, he noticed two men sitting in a car directly outside of the shop. He engaged the men and directed them to step out of the vehicle. The passenger of the vehicle then pulled out a handgun, and the driver began to drive away. The passenger and Officer Harbour exchanged fire; Officer Harbour was able to hit one of the tires and the body of the vehicle multiple times but took one return round in the chest, severing his aortic artery. An army medic happened to be nearby and rushed to Officer Harbour's aid but could not stop the bleeding, and Officer Harbour died within minutes of the shooting. The two men in the car fled the scene, but due to the damage to their vehicle, wrecked shortly thereafter. Both bailed out of the vehicle, with the driver attempting to flee on foot and the shooter carjacking a woman and taking her hostage. The driver was apprehended after a short foot pursuit and was charged as an accessory to first-degree murder. The shooter led Riley County units, as well as State Patrol and Kansas Bureau of Investigation units, on a high-speed chase through the county. At some point, he forced the woman out of the car and continued his attempt to flee alone. However, driving down a highway, he saw that officers from a neighboring county, the State Patrol, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation had set up a massive roadblock ahead of him. At that point, he shot himself in the head, killing himself before his vehicle veered into a tree. The pawn shop owner held the man inside the pawn shop at gunpoint, and the man was arrested when officers arrived at the scene; he was charged with burglary and attempted to sell stolen goods. The driver was charged as an accessory. Officer Harbour had served with the Riley County Police Department for 22 years. He was survived by his wif

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-KS-571755F5
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

22 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Harbour gave the Riley County Police Department 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Manhattan community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Harbour.

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

Agency

Location Manhattan, KS
Platform Identity rcpd.riley.ks.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 9, 1982
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
Age 49
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Committed suicide

Police Officer Donald R. Harbour is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In KS, 237 of 335 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 70.7% of this state's fallen. That is 16.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

Riley County Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
KS — Statewide
237
of 335 officers
70.7% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Donald R. Harbour's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Donald R. Harbour Compares

Age at End of Watch
49
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
22
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Committed suicide

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Donald R. Harbour is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Donald R. Harbour was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518

Incident Location