American flag flown over Pentagon in honor of fallen Independence officer

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A fallen metro police officer is honored in the nation’s capital.

The Independence Police Department said an American flag was flown over the Pentagon on Wednesday to honor Officer Blaize Madrid-Evans, who was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 15, 2021, while investigating a tip about a man wanted for aggravated assault.

He was one of four Independence police officers who responded to the house. The suspect noticed the officers as they approached the garage. Officers said the suspect pulled a handgun and began shooting. He hit and killed Madrid-Evans.

The 22-year-old officer graduated from the police academy two months before his death and was undergoing field training at the time of the shooting.

Before his death, the Independence Police Department had not lost an officer in the line of duty to gunfire since 2001.

Madrid-Evans was an organ donor and helped improve the lives of 75 people following his death, including a Springfield, Missouri officer who had been paralyzed in the line of duty in 2020 and received one of Madrid-Evans’ kidneys.

In September of 2022, Madrid-Evans was presented and one of the first officers to receive the Red, White and Blue Heart Award by Gov. Mike Parson.