Public Safety

Latest reporting from the Public Safety desk.

Public Safety

Latest reporting from the Public Safety desk.

Public Safety

Latest reporting from the Public Safety desk.

Yellow Labrador in a service harness with a uniformed officer kneeling beside him.

Johnson County corrections adds therapy dog trained by inmates

Johnson County Department of Corrections has added Mater, a certified therapy dog raised and trained by inmates through a vocational program, to support youth and staff across all its facilities, funded entirely by a University of Notre Dame grant.

Red-brick Salvation Army building with shield logo above arched entrance doors.

Olathe cooling center opens Labor Day as heat wave lingers

Two supplemental cooling centers, including one at the Salvation Army in Olathe, will open Monday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. as a late-season heat wave keeps temperatures near 100 degrees over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Olathe North graduate dies at off-campus UCM residence

Bailey Throssell, a UCM senior and 2023 Olathe North graduate who interned with Lenexa Parks and Recreation this summer, died Saturday at an off-campus Warrensburg residence in what police suspect was an overdose.

KCK man dies in fiery I-35 crash in Olathe

A 43-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man was killed Monday morning when his car left northbound I-35 in Olathe, struck a Lone Elm Road bridge pillar and caught fire, closing the highway and drawing a multi-agency emergency response.

A detailed view of an American football resting on a grass field during daylight.

Kansas football deaths raise heat safety questions in Olathe

Two football players have died during the 2026 season's opening weeks in the Kansas City region, extending a pattern of fatalities with ties to the Olathe area. Kansas does not mandate heat-safety protocols for high school football.

Fire

Olathe deck fire injures two, displaces family of five

A deck fire at 1429 S. Tomahawk Lane in Olathe sent two women to the hospital Sunday, Aug. 30, and displaced a family of five, with discarded smoking materials identified as the apparent cause.

Close-up of yellow caution tape on pavement, suggesting danger or warning.

Olathe rollover crash at 135th and Black Bob injures four

A Kia Niro T-boned an Isuzu box truck Wednesday afternoon at 135th Street and Black Bob Road in Olathe, rolling the truck and sending four people to the hospital, including an unbelted 3-year-old girl.

Cyclospora cayetanensis oocyst, foodborne parasite, cyclosporiasis pathogen.

Johnson County confirms 221 Cyclospora cases in outbreak

Johnson County has confirmed 221 Cyclospora cases linked to recalled Taylor Farms shredded lettuce, the highest count in the Kansas City metro area, as health officials say the regional outbreak may be peaking.

Woman pleads guilty to felonies in fatal Olathe apartment shooting

Toni M. Tyson pleaded guilty to two felony charges in Johnson County District Court for her role in a fatal February 2025 shooting at Wingfield Apartments in Olathe, with attempted murder charges dropped as part of a plea deal; sentencing is set for Oct. 16.

Lenexa man sentenced to 65 years for killing mother, aunt

A Johnson County judge sentenced Luke Howard to 65 years and three months in prison Monday for fatally shooting his mother and aunt at their Lenexa home in February 2025, a case preceded by days of domestic disturbances and an eviction notice.

Man who killed Johnson County social worker in 2004 dies in prison

Andrew Ellmaker, 39, who was convicted of murdering Johnson County social worker Teri Lea Zenner in a 2004 attack at his Overland Park home, was found dead in his cell at the El Dorado Correctional Facility on Tuesday, Aug. 18; the cause of death is pending autopsy.

Olathe police increase DUI patrols ahead of Labor Day

Olathe Police are joining the statewide "You Drink. You Drive. You Lose." campaign from Aug. 23 through Sept. 7, stepping up impaired-driving enforcement ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

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