Officer Craig Schultz was killed in a motorcycle accident on I-29 while responding to an accident.
On May 9, 2001, Officer Schultz was traveling southbound on Interstate 29 responding to a rollover accident on the highway when he apparently lost control of his motorcycle. Officer Schultz had notified a dispatcher that he was heading to the scene of an accident in the left southbound lane of I-29 east of North Oak Trafficway. At 12:08 p.m. Officer Schultz's emergency button was activated, sending a distress signal. Fire department personnel found Officer Schultz at 12:12 p.m. on I-29 under a bridge that is part of the Interstate 635 Interchange. His motorcycle was on it's side with the front wheel facing south. It was determined that Officer Schultz struck the guardrail after encountering a slick spot on the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officer Schultz joined the police department in 1990 and was 36 years old at the time of his death. After several years working in other sections of the police department, including accident investigation, Officer Schultz requested a transfer to the enforcement unit to ride a motorcycle.
In Officer Schultz' euglogy, Sgt. Timothy Gaughan said, "He was a good man and my friend. Even a good man must die, but death cannot kill his name." During his years on the force, Schultz received awards for good conduct and meritorious service. Captain Dale Barlow read proclamations honoring Schultz from Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri Senate. In addition to hundreds of area police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers, others traveled from as far away as Jefferson City, St. Louis and other cities across Missouri, Kansas and Illinois to mourn Schultz. Schultz's funeral procession wound from the church to Mount Moriah Terrace Park Cemetery in Kansas City, North, delaying traffic about an hour between Missouri 291 and U.S. 169 and Northwest 108th Street.
Officer Schultz had been a member of the Kansas City Police Department for 11 years, and is survived by his wife, Christina, and two young daughters, Heather and Tara.
Interred: Mt Moriah Terrace Park Cemetery.
Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial