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Minutes for HB2298 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Designating a portion of interstate 435 as the Officer Donald Burton Gamblin Jr memorial highway.
Minutes Content for Tue, Mar 14, 2023
The Chair opened the hearing on HB2298.
Mr. Siebers explained that the bill designates a portion of Interstate 435 in Johnson County as the Officer Donald Burton Gamblin Jr Memorial Highway (Attachment 4).
Sam Larson, Chief of Police, City of Shawnee, Kansas, spoke in support of the bill (Attachment 5). He stated that Officer Gamblin previously served in the VietNam War. He served eight years with the Shawnee Police Department before being killed in the line of duty; an intoxicated motorist struck him on Interstate 435 during a traffic stop. Chief Larson traced the enduring impact of Officer Gamblin's life during the past 32 years. He said a park in Shawnee bears his name and a yearly remembrance in his honor is celebrated by the officers in the Shawnee Police Department. The stretch of Interstate 435 where he was killed would be a further honor to recognize his sacrifice.
Matt Gamblin, Deputy Chief, Miami County EMS, and son of Officer Gamblin, spoke in support of the bill (Attachment 6). He commented that his father's life and death impacted his own life as a prime example worth following.
