A section of 123rd Street now has a new name: Mike Mosher Boulevard.
The name change honors fallen Overland Park Police Officer Mike Mosher, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this year. Last night, City Council approved renaming 123rd Street between Blue Valley Parkway and Metcalf.
Police Chief Frank Donchez took input from Overland Park Police officers about how the City could honor Mosher. He brought the idea for Mike Mosher Boulevard to the Public Safety Committee in October, and the committee approved the idea.
“It’s a great idea. I’m excited that we can honor Mike in a timely manner,” Chief Donchez said at the Public Safety Committee meeting.
Before its approval by the City Council, the Planning Commission approved the name change at the December Planning Commission meeting. Public Works staff will add new signage soon.
On May 3, 2020, Mosher was killed in a shootout with a suspect not far from Mike Mosher Boulevard, near 123rd and Antioch. The suspect was also killed.
Mosher was the second Overland Park Police officer killed in the line of duty. A drunk driver struck Overland Park Police Officer Deanna Rose while she was working a traffic incident in 1985. She later died of her injuries, and the City named Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Officer Rose’s honor.