Roll of Honor
Leonard M. Kennedy
Incident
Special Officer Leonard Kennedy was struck and killed by a freight train north of Burlington, Kansas, while guarding the bridge over Otter Creek.
His body was located in the water below the bridge when another officer arrived to relieve him at approximately 6:00 am. It was believed that he was struck by an unscheduled freight train at approximately 2:00 am. He had been assigned to the guard the bridge to assist United States Marshals who were protecting the railroad infrastructure during a strike by MKT railroad employees.
The location of the bridge where Officer Kennedy was killed is now covered by the John Redmond Reservoir.
Officer Kennedy was a U.S. Army veteran.
Officer Kennedy was a U.S. Army veteran.
Survivors
He was survived by his father and three brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-A56C0CDF- 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
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Special Officer Kennedy served with the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Dallas community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Leonard M. Kennedy served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Special Officer Leonard M. Kennedy 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 TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Police Department, 5 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 71.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Leonard M. Kennedy's cause is highlighted.
How Leonard M. Kennedy Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Leonard M. Kennedy is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
