On December 28, 2020, Police Officer Kendle Blackburn died from complications resulting of contracting COVID-19 from a presumed on-duty exposure during the 2020 pandemic.

Officer Blackburn had served with the Lebanon Police Department for 16 years and had previously served with the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office for five years and the Richland Police Department. He is survived by his wife and three sons and five grandchildren. Interred: Mt. Rose Memorial Park Cemetery, Lebanon, MO.