Martin Hynes
Agency: Kansas City Police Department, MO
Officer Hynes was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for beating his wife. Officer Hynes was at the White House Saloon on 10th Street when a disturbance arose between Mrs. Crenshaw and her husband, saloon proprietor and suspect H. Clay Crenshaw. The disturbance resulted in Mrs. Crenshaw running into the street calling for help. Officer Hynes took Crenshaw into custody and was escorting him down the street when Crenshaw fled into the White House Saloon, pulled a gun and fatally wounded Officer Hynes in an exchange of gunfire.
Crenshaw was charged with Officer Hynes' murder and acquitted at his trial on January 23, 1883.
Martin Hynes was born in 1843 in Ireland and was 28 years old when he emigrated to the United States in 1870. He was the first Irish-American Kansas City police officer to lose his life in the line of duty. Martin was survived by his wife, Mary Ellen "Nellie" Hynes, and had two children, John and Nellie Hynes.
Reflections:
References:
City Council of Kansas City Special Action (RESOLUTION NO. 950696) to Recognize National Police Week and honor law enforcement officers, 5/18/1995