Officer John Less was shot and wounded while pursuing an escaped prisoner.

On October 19, 1923 at 12:20 am, suspect John Hart along with his associate R.V. France had been arrested at the Elm Hotel for being drunk and disorderly. Officers searched France and found a .45 caliber automatic pistol in his hip pocket. Hart was also searched but his gun went undiscovered. After the paddy wagon arrived, suspect Hart broke and ran with Officers Less and France in foot pursuit. Suspect Hart shot and wounded Officer Less in the lower part of the abdomen causing Officer Less to fall to the sidewalk at 3rd and Felix streets. After Officer Less was shot, a running gun battle occurred between Hart and half a dozen police officers who were chasing him on foot but Hart finally escaped. Officer Less died from his injuries at St Joseph's Hospital on October 22, 1923.

Suspect Hart evaded capture and an extensive search was conducted. Hart was arrested by St. Joseph detectives and Nodaway County Deputies at a farm house 4 1/2 miles north of Elmo, Missouri just before midnight on October 22, 1923. Hart was armed with a .38 caliber revolver and had a bullet wound in his left leg.

Suspect Hart had previously been paroled on October 8, 1923 from the Nebraska Penitentiary by telling the parole board he had been gassed in the world war. At that time he had admitted to having been arrested in St. Joseph for an attempted killing in 1918. Hart had originally been sentenced for a term of 1 to 10 years for Breaking and Entering. When questioned about why he committed the crime, he stated that he fired to "scare" the officers and did not learn until later that he had hit anyone. For his crime, Hart received a life sentence.

Officer Less, 38, had served with the department for three years, first as a patrolman, then as a member of the secret service section and finally transfered to be a motorcycle patrolman at his own request. He was survived by a wife and two children. Interred: Mt Olivet Cemetery, St Joseph, MO.