KANSAS CITY, Mo — There has been an outpour of support in the last few days for Officer Muhlbauer and his canine partner Champ, who died in a deadly crash Wednesday night.
Among a community of people mourning their loss, perhaps those who feel it deepest are other men and women in blue.
“It’s a shame, you know, what we do for a living, it’s tough enough,” said Brad Lemon, president of the Local Fraternal Order of Police. “It says something pretty special about a family that would choose to do a job when the world, at times, wasn’t there for us.”
Lemon hopes Muhlbauer’s passing will be a reminder for people to wake up everyday and choose to make smart decisions.
While it is difficult to define what is “justice,” he hopes prosecutors and judges will continue to impose what is necessary for a man who gave everything.
“He truly believed in what he did every single day. I mean, he believed in coming to work and being the best police officer you can and giving the city everything they had," Lemon said. "I mean, not everyone wants to be a canine officer — it’s a lot."
Lemon spoke on the special bonds between canine officers and their handlers, recalling the amount of support and respect that was in the hospital room the night of the accident.
“The canine unit was all there, and canine units from all over the metro came,” Lemon said. "Yeah they’re hurt. And they’re probably hurting different than how other people hurt, because they spend so much time together training and working together and you develop those special bonds in those kinds of units that are different than anywhere else.”
An online fundraiser has been launched by the FOP to help Muhlbauer’s family during these trying times. He leaves behind a wife and children.
“We really would appreciate as much help as we possibly can," Lemon said. “Our wives know what we do for a living, but children struggle differently. It’s different for them.”
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