Police Officer Killed During Missouri Traffic Stop: Authorities

NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO — A police officer was killed Tuesday while conducting a traffic stop in the Kansas City area, according to authorities.

Officer Daniel Vasquez, 32, of the North Kansas City Police Department, tried to pull over a vehicle with expired temporary tags 10:40 a.m. at Clay Street and East 21st Avenuem, when the driver shot him, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

A Blue Alert was declared shortly afterward for a gray Ford Taurus and then canceled roughly three hours later when a person of interest turned himself in to police, authorities said. The sheriff’s office announced about 2:30 p.m. that Vasquez had died.

“I cannot express how excruciating this senseless death is for our organization and community,” North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong said in a message on social media. “Daniel served the North Kansas City community proudly and bravely for almost two years. As Chief Freeman stated, Daniel was a shining star in our organization, and we are deeply hurting from this devastating loss.”

Chief Kevin Freeman told FOX 4 that Vasquez was the first North Kansas City police officer ever to die in the line of duty and that Kansas City police would take over the investigation. A fundraiser to support Vasquez’s family was started by Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99 and can be accessed at https://unionly.io/o/kcfop/honoring-daniel-vasquez.