Tributes are pouring in for a Kansas City police officer killed Tuesday during a routine traffic stop.
Officer Daniel Vasquez, 32, was attempting to stop a vehicle for expired temporary tags in North Kansas City Tuesday when the car’s driver shot the officer and drove away, Clay County Sheriff Will Akin said.
He was transferred from North Kansas City Hospital to KU Medical Center but later died of his injuries, according to KMBC 9. His death was announced about 2:30 p.m.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol had issued a blue alert for the suspect vehicle, an early-model 2000s gray Ford Taurus with the Missouri temporary license number 03GU43 that expired in 2018. The tag was previously registered for a Buick, police said. The suspect eventually turned himself in to police after the alert had been issued for his car.
Vasquez joined the North Kansas City Police Department in 2021.
“This morning, North Kansas City Police Officer Daniel Vasquez was killed in the line of duty while performing a car stop in a neighborhood,” North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Daniel Vasquez, 2nd from right, had pulled the suspect over for an expired license tag.
City of North Kansas City/Facebook
“I cannot express how excruciating this senseless death is for our organization and community. Daniel’s family, the NKC Police Department, and our entire community are grieving from this tragedy.”
DeLong said Vasquez served with the police department for almost two years.
North Kansas City Police Chief Kevin Freeman said Vasquez was the first officer in the department to die in the line of duty.
“He was a shining star in our department,” Freeman said.
Caldwell Couty Missouri Sheriff’s Department said on Facebook that they were “sending our thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters of the North Kansas City Police Department and to the officer’s family as they deal with the tragic murder of their own Officer Daniel Vasquez, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop today. Our hearts go out to his family, and to our brothers and sisters in blue. R.I.P. Officer Daniel Vasquez, we will take it from here.”
Neighboring Kansas City police tweeted: “The loss of a police officer is a tragic event for an entire community, and we are grieving this loss with our neighbors in North Kansas City. Please join us in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.”
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted: “I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of North Kansas City Police Officer Daniel Vasquez. All of us in Kansas City extend our sincere condolences to Officer Vasquez’s family, his law enforcement brothers and sisters, and the people of North Kansas City.”
They have set up a portal so that people can send donations Officer Vasquez’s family. You can access that here.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice