Officer Harry Canton was killed in a motorcycle accident while attempting to stop a speeding car.

On November 4, 1939 at 2:35 pm, Officer Canton's motorcycle was traveling east on Sidney near California and struck the side of a Cherokee city bus, resulting in Officer Canton sustaining a fractured skull, fractured ribs and a punctured lung. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Witness accounts reported that a speeding car had passed the bus at the intersection and Officer Canton was pursuing the vehicle with lights and siren but as he applied the motorcycle's brakes he entered a skid and struck the bus.

Officer Canton had been with the agency for 15 years, serving since 1924, and was assigned to the Traffic Unit. He was survived by his wife, Lydia. Interred: St Peter's Cemetery, Normandy, Missouri.