Patrol Officer Kenneth R. Dawson was 42 when he was shot and killed while on duty in Wheeling, Illinois. On November 5, 1985, Dawson responded to a burglary call on Cleo Court and was fatally shot at about 7:30 pm. He had served with the Wheeling Police Department for 16 years and was survived by his wife and three daughters.

The person accused was a convicted felon who was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping, and armed robbery. That defendant was initially sentenced to death; the sentence was later commuted to life without parole after the governor granted clemency to all 167 Illinois death row inmates on January 11, 2003.

Anyone who knew Officer Dawson, his family, or who has information about the events of November 5, 1985, is asked to come forward.