Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Jim Muhlbauer and K9 Champ were killed in a vehicle crash at 10:15 pm at the intersection of East Truman Road and Benton Boulevard in Kansas City.
A vehicle was traveling at 89 miles per hour, ran a red light, and crashed into Officer Mulbauer and K9 Champ while in their patrol vehicle. The impact caused the squad car to roll over. A pedestrian was also hit. K9 Champ and the pedestrian died at the scene. Officer Muhlbauer was taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The 18-year-old driver who hit the police car was also injured and was taken into police custody pending investigation. He was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. In 2024, he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
Officer Muhlbauer had served with the Kansas City Police Department for 20 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and child.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-2B412A0E- 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
20 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Muhlbauer gave the Kansas City Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Kansas City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Muhlbauer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer James Muhlbauer 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Kansas City Police Department, 47 of 120 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Muhlbauer's cause is highlighted.
How James Muhlbauer Compares
Offender Outcome
Charged with involuntary manslaughter
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Muhlbauer is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
119 officers from Kansas City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
