(Independence) Funeral services for Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Jim Smith are this morning at 10:00 a.m. at Independence High School.
On Friday, April 9, 2021, Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Jim Smith #462, a 27-year-veteran of the Patrol, was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a barricaded subject in Grundy County. Iowa State Patrol Trooper and District #4 Public Information Officer Shelby McCreedy says Sgt. Smith’s reputation proceeded himself, not only as a supervisor and law enforcement officer.
Trooper McCreedy says the last in the line of duty death of an Iowa State Patrol Trooper occurred in 2011 when Marke Toney was killed in an automobile crash. McCreedy says the last time and only other time the Iowa State Patrol lost an officer to homicide by gunfire occurred in 19936.
The Iowa State Patrol statewide has been wearing the mourning band across their badges this week in honor of their fallen brother in law enforcement. In district 9 and 10, ( his home district), troopers will wear the mourning badges for a full 30-days.
Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in the state to fly at half-staff today (Friday) to honor fallen Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Jim Smith. Under Reynolds’ order, flags at the State Capitol and within the Capitol complex, as well as flags on all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout Iowa will be lowered from sunrise to sunset. The governor is encouraging individuals, businesses, schools, local governments, and municipalities to follow suit.
