Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Joseph Zannelli accidentally shot himself in the right leg while chasing a man wanted for assaulting a streetcar conductor near 5th and Holmes on April 27, 1901. A gangrene infection developed as a result of the wound and Officer Zannelli's leg was amputated, but the gangrene spread throughout his body. He died on May 19, 1901. Patrolman Zannelli had been with the agency for 18 months and was the first Italian-American to serve on the Kansas City Police Department.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-EC4BCEE5- 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
You barely got started.
Patrolman Zannelli gave the Kansas City Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Kansas City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Zannelli.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Joseph Zannelli 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. Joseph Zannelli's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Zannelli Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Zannelli is highlighted in May.
Others Who Wore This Badge
119 officers from Kansas City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
