On the evening of September 13, 2023, a dedicated White / Caucasian police officer, Kevin Michael Cram, a 33-year-old male, was shot and killed in the line of duty in Algona, Iowa. A ten-year veteran of law enforcement who had been with the Algona Police Department since 2015, Officer Cram was on patrol when he was made aware of an active arrest warrant for a local resident.
Around 7:53 p.m., Officer Cram located the subject of the warrant, Kyle Ricke, age 43, outside a home on South
Minnesota Street. When Officer Cram informed Ricke that he was being placed under arrest, Ricke responded by fatally shooting the officer. Officer Cram was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Following the shooting, Ricke fled the scene, sparking a four-hour manhunt that put the community on high alert. The search for Ricke extended beyond state lines, and he was eventually located and apprehended by authorities just before midnight near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, approximately two hours north of Algona. He was taken into custody without further incident and held in the Brown County Jail in Minnesota.
Kyle Ricke was subsequently extradited back to Iowa and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Officer Kevin Cram. After legal proceedings, a jury found Ricke guilty of the charge. A conviction for first-degree murder in Iowa carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
