FAIRWAY, Kan. — An outpour of community support continues days after the city of Fairway learned about Fairway police officer Jonah Oswald’s death in the line of duty.
Outside the small Kansas police department, flags remain at half-staff surrounded by flowers, cards and well-wishes from people across state lines.
“It's just one of the saddest things you can hear when a young man, 29 years old, is killed in the line of duty,” said Bobby Blackwell of Springfield Missouri. “Our police officers are just amazing and they go right into danger with no thought for their lives.”
Police officers from other law enforcement agencies were also seen stopping by the Fairway Police Department and offering additional support and resources to help impacted officers.
For those unfamiliar with Fairway, the city’s police department is nestled in the middle of a business district along Shawnee Mission Parkway and Belinder Avenue. Many business owners including Molly Maxwell, owner of the Hoopla Studio, believe having the police department next door adds a sense of layer and commodity, making the loss of Officer Oswald that much greater.
“It does hit home and people really feel for his family and for the whole police community and all people that help serve our whole community and make things better,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell says business owners in Fairway are looking at hosting events or a fundraiser to help support the department, but nothing is set in stone. Customers are feeling the ripple effects of losing an officer.
“We actually walk through Fairway several times a week with my kids, and so we see the police officers out driving around, there’s Westwood Fairway and Roeland Park, we're all really small cities, but we're all kind of always interacting with each other," Mollie Lothman said.
The City of Fairway, tells KSHB 41 News no official comment will be made by city officials at this time.
“I think you always hear about things happening in other places and then it's crazy to find out that it's an officer who works in our neighborhood in our area of town,” Maxwell said.
