Officials said on Thursday that an Iowa police officer was killed after being shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect who was later apprehended in Minnesota.
Officer Kevin Cram of the Algona Police Department was shot just before 8 o’clock on Wednesday while attempting to detain Kyle Ricke, 43, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. A hospital gave the death certificate to Cram, a 33-year-old husband and father who had worked as an officer in Algona since 2015.
Following the incident, a Blue Alert was issued to inform the public that a suspect who might constitute a threat to law enforcement was at large. Just before midnight, Ricke was peacefully apprehended and detained in Brown County, Minnesota. Nearly 100 miles separate Brown County from Algona.
“Tragic, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching pain and agony, but we will bow our backs, we will be strong, and we will continue to do our jobs,” Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said at a news conference.
In the town of Algona, which has a population of roughly 5,300, Cram was on patrol when he learned that Ricke had an arrest warrant out for him for harassment, according to Mortvedt. Informing Ricke that he would be arrested, the officer spotted him. Ricke shot him at that point, according to Mortvedt.
According to Mortvedt, Ricke was being detained in Minnesota on first-degree murder charges while awaiting extradition. Ricke’s lawyer in the harassment complaint did not immediately respond to a phone call left.
