Sergeant Robert Gene Kimberling

Robert Gene Kimberling

Sergeant Robert Kimberling was shot and killed after getting in a struggle with a suspected gasoline thief on I-29, near Faucett, Missouri.

Sergeant Kimberling stopped the suspect after it was reported that a man with a similar description filled up with gas at a highway truck stop and drove away without paying. During the stop, Sergeant Kimberling approached the passenger side of the vehicle. At the same time, the suspect exited the vehicle and walked to the rear of it.

Upon seeing Sergeant Kimberling, the man ran back to his open driver's door and retrieved a revolver. Sergeant Kimberling pursued him to the door and began struggling with the man.

The suspect shot at Sergeant Kimberling twice, both shots being stopped by his vest. Sergeant Kimberling returned fire, striking the suspect twice in the leg. The suspect also continued firing, striking Sergeant Kimberling multiple times. The suspect then shot and killed himself at the scene. The entire incident occurred in less than one minute.

The suspect was being searched for in Wisconsin as a suicide threat. That information, however, was entered into NCIC only one minute before Sergeant Kimberling called in the license plate, and was not yet available to dispatchers.

Sergeant Kimberling was posthumously awarded the Citation for Valor by his department. He had served with the Missouri State Highway Patrol for 14 years. He was survived by his wife and two young children.