The Fairway Police Department took time Wednesday to remember a fallen police officer, one year after he was fatally shot in the line of duty.

Police Commissioner JP Thurlo released a statement on Wednesday afternoon in memory of Jonah Oswald, a 29-year-old husband and father of two young children, on the anniversary of his death.

“We miss Jonah every day,” Thurlo said.

Thurlo recounted memories of Oswald cracking jokes at the police station and waving to citizens while patrolling the fairway.

“Even though Jonah is no longer here in person, his spirit lives on in the men and women of our police department,” Thurlo said. “Jonah believed in service and selflessness, and we will forever carry that legacy in Jonah’s honor.”

The shoot

Oswald was one of the officers who responded to a situation that began with a stolen vehicle report and ended with gunfire on Aug. 7, 2023. Lenexa police were pursuing a stolen SUV whose driver allegedly drove into a patrol vehicle. Police said the suspects jumped out of the vehicle and drove into a QuikTrip vehicle at 4700 Lamar Ave.

Oswald was seriously wounded in a shootout and later died in hospital. Also killed at the scene was a carjacking suspect, identified by police as 40-year-old Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee.

In December 2023, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe ruled that police acted lawfully in killing Marshall. Oswald was shot in the head while attempting to break into a bathroom stall that Marshall was using, according to an analysis and summary report from the prosecutor’s office.

The other suspect, 32-year-old Andrea Cothran of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, is charged with seven felonies and one misdemeanor, including: first-degree murder, reckless flight from police, aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a weapon by a felon and three counts of theft.

Cothran is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in Johnson County District Court Department 15 at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 5. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Dec. 16.

‘Forever grateful’

In his statement Wednesday afternoon, Thurlo said he wanted to remember those closest to Oswald, including his wife, two young children and his parents.

“Their grief remains immeasurable, but we will always be there for them and consider them part of our family,” he said.

Thurlo said he wanted to thank the community for their support of the police and Oswald’s family over the past year.

“Words alone cannot express how much this support has meant to us and how it has helped us grieve and process the darkest days of Jonah’s absence,” Thurlo said. “We are forever grateful.”

Matti Gellman and Anna Spoerre from Star participated.