On March 1, 2000, 21-year-old Deputy Todd Michael Widman of the Brown County Sheriff’s Department was shot and killed while on duty in Hiawatha, Kansas. Widman had responded to a report of a transient walking along U.S. Highway 73 and after an initial check later encountered a person matching the description. Believing the individual to be a runaway juvenile, he placed the 16-year-old in the front seat of his patrol car to transport him to the sheriff’s department. The teenager had a handgun concealed in a duffel bag and, while en route, pulled the weapon and shot Deputy Widman multiple times. Widman managed to exit his vehicle and radio for help before collapsing; he died shortly after arriving at Hiawatha Community Hospital.

A multiagency manhunt located the suspect about an hour later just west of Hiawatha. The teenager opened fire on officers and was shot and killed when officers returned fire. The suspect was later identified as a transient. Widman had served two years with the sheriff’s department and was studying criminal justice at Washburn University. Anyone with information about this case or who knew Deputy Widman is asked to come forward.