On a December afternoon in 1908, a confrontation that began over the welfare of children with a street preacher would end in a hail of bullets, leaving multiple people dead, including a Kansas City police officer. Patrolman Michael P. Mullane, a 33-year-old male, was a respected and physically imposing member of the Kansas City Police Department, having served for three years.
His path would tragically cross with that of a white-bearded street preacher named James Sharp, also known as 'Adam God,' near 5th and Main Streets, sparking a violent chain of events.
The incident was set in motion when a juvenile court probation officer, George Holt, grew concerned about a woman and five children in the company of Sharp and his assistant preacher, A.J. Selsor. When Holt questioned the woman about the children, he was met with hostility from Sharp, who struck him with a pistol. Holt retreated to the nearby police station to report the escalating situation. Patrolman Mullane and his partner, Patrolman Albert Dolbow, were dispatched to what was initially considered a disturbance. However, they were met with a volley of gunfire from the heavily armed preacher and his followers. In the ensuing gunfight, Patrolman Dolbow was killed instantly. As Mullane attempted to get back to the station for reinforcements, he was shot in the back.
Despite the chaos and being outgunned, more officers joined the fray. The shootout resulted in the death of the assistant preacher, his 12-year-old daughter, and a bystander. Patrolman Mullane was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he fought for his life for two days before succumbing to his injuries on December 10, 1908. His death brought the total number of fatalities from the riot to five.
In the aftermath of the deadly confrontation, a manhunt for James Sharp was launched. He was captured the next day, hiding in a straw stack on a farm northeast of Olathe, Kansas. Sharp was charged with the murder of Patrolman Mullane. On May 29, 1909, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was eventually paroled in 1923 and lived as an eccentric street preacher until his death in 1946 at the age of 89.
