On the night of July 8, 2011, in Bismarck, North Dakota, a dedicated police sergeant, Steven Rickie Kenner, a 56-year-old Caucasian male, responded to a domestic disturbance call that would tragically be his last. The call, which came in at 10:38 p.m., reported a man threatening a woman with a knife on East Broadway Avenue. Kenner, a 32-year veteran of the Bismarck Police Department and a National Guard veteran, arrived at the scene with another officer to find the suspect seated in a van.
As the officers approached the vehicle, they instructed the man to show his hands. Instead of complying, the man, identified as 52-year-old Steven G. Bannister, opened fire. Sergeant Kenner was struck by the gunfire. The other officer returned fire, hitting Bannister. Both Kenner and Bannister were transported to a local hospital. Sergeant Kenner succumbed to his wounds, his death marking the first time a Bismarck police officer was killed in the line of duty.
The aftermath of the shooting saw a swift legal process. Steven G. Bannister was charged with murder for the death of Sergeant Kenner. On July 31, 2011, Bannister was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sergeant Kenner, who was survived by his wife and four children, was remembered for his long and honorable service to the community. His funeral was held at the Bismarck Civic Center, and he was buried in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery.
