Roll of Honor
William "Apache Bill" Semans
Incident
Township Constable Semans was shot and killed while attempted to place an unruly cowboy under arrest at a dance hall.
Constable Semans was the former Ellsworth County Sheriff and before that an investigator for the government. He had 21 brothers and 15 sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KS-6A36A80B- 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
157 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Township Constable Semans served with the Ellsworth Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Ellsworth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Township Constable William "Apache Bill" Semans 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William "Apache Bill" Semans's cause is highlighted.
How William "Apache Bill" Semans Compares
Offender Outcome
Escaped
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William "Apache Bill" Semans is highlighted in Sep.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William "Apache Bill" Semans was killed by shotgun.