--- description: A Kansas police captain was shot and killed Tuesday while responding to a call of an armed disturbance, authorities said. title: Kansas City Police Captain Shot Dead on Duty image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt94750846f8721f60/69889ca5196cf4bda803c788/melton_robert_kansas_city.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Kansas City Police Captain Shot Dead on Duty  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 11:24 PM CUTPublished: Jul 19, 2016 9:17 PM CUT  Captain Robert D. Melton, in an undated photo provided by the Kansas City Police Department. Captain Robert D. Melton, in an undated photo provided by the Kansas City Police Department.Photo courtesy Kansas City, Kansas Police Department  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 11:24 PM CUTPublished: Jul 19, 2016 9:17 PM CUT A Kansas police captain was [shot and killed](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/29395010ca2a44baa1cbed9bcd98c8f9/chief-says-police-officer-shot-kansas-city-kansas "undefined") Tuesday while responding to a call of an armed disturbance, authorities said. The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department said Capt. Robert Melton was dispatched about 1:30 p.m. local time following a 911 call that someone was being shot at by people inside a vehicle. About three or four people inside a vehicle attempted to flee when officers arrived at the scene, police said. One suspect was taken into custody. Multiple gunshots were fired when an officer tried making contact with another suspect, and Melton was shot, police said. It’s unclear what led to the shooting. The officer was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died, Dr. James Howard, a trauma surgeon who operated on him at the University of Kansas Hospital, said at a news conference. Melton, 46, served the force for 17 years, the police department said. Authorities are searching for the other suspects. > [](https://twitter.com/KCKPDChief/status/755477808579612672) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4413808/kansas-city-police-captain-shot-dead-on-duty-capt-robert-melton/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4413808/kansas-city-police-captain-shot-dead-on-duty-capt-robert-melton/"},"headline":"Kansas City Police Captain Shot Dead on Duty","datePublished":"2016-07-19T21:17:50.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T23:24:42.000Z","description":"A manhunt for suspects is underway","url":"https://time.com/4413808/kansas-city-police-captain-shot-dead-on-duty-capt-robert-melton/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt94750846f8721f60/69889ca5196cf4bda803c788/melton_robert_kansas_city.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt94750846f8721f60/69889ca5196cf4bda803c788/melton_robert_kansas_city.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"melton_robert_kansas_city","caption":"Captain Robert D. Melton, in an undated photo provided by the Kansas City Police Department.","creditText":"Photo courtesy Kansas City, Kansas Police Department","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4413808/kansas-city-police-captain-shot-dead-on-duty-capt-robert-melton/","name":"Kansas City Police Captain Shot Dead on Duty"}}]}] ```