January 18, 2026
More Than a Uniform: In Memory of Violet By Laura McCabe LKPD Communications Manager
Rich Lockhart LKPD Chief of Police
Welcome to the first City Beat of 2026. It’s been a year since we started publishing and I hope you enjoy getting to know your police department and seeing the incredible work the officers and professional staff are doing to keep our community safe. This edition will tell the story of a decades old sexual predator identified using genetic genealogy, the same technology that identified the Golden State killer. For more than twenty-five years, the suspect evaded law enforcement and through the work of Detective Amy Price, he was finally identified and charged. It is a true crime story that is an example of how technology and dogged detective work brought justice for the survivors of this horrific crime. You all know that I love a crazy idea and you are going to read about how Officer Anthony Harvey Jr. had one that he thought might just work. Officer Harvey wondered if he could change the way troubled youth look at police officers in a similar way his mind was changed when he was a teen. In Harvey’s case, it was a school resource officer. This idea involves Harvey mentoring youth at the juvenile day school. As I listened to him tell me about the program, I was so impressed with his heart for service to a group of young people that many in our community don’t even think about. We just finished up the College Football Bowl season so what better time to introduce you to our very own Corporal Maurice Henry. What does one have to do with the other, you say? Well, Cpl. Henry is a former KU Football player who played for the Jayhawks in the 2008 Orange Bowl; a game the Jayhawks won. Cpl. Henry takes on the dreaded five questions so you know it will be good. His answers will be just as sweet as the Orange Bowl win, at least in my opinion. February 26 marks the return of the Douglas County Valor Awards. This is an opportunity to recognize the heroic work of the first responders in our county and provides an opportunity for the community to not only eat dinner with these heroes but also to thank them. Mark your calendars and get your tickets to this special and memorable event. As always, give us some feedback on what you think of our stories about your police department. Thank you for the honor of being your Lawrence Police Chief.
In April 2010, Lieutenant Amy Rhoads welcomed her daughter Violet into the world; one of the happiest days of her life. The devastating news that Violet was born with Acute Myeloid Leukemia came too soon. For six months, Rhoads and her husband—also a police officer—endured NICU stays, treatment visits, and tragedy they had never seen or experienced. When Violet passed away in October of that year, the world stopped. But the Lawrence Police Department didn’t just send flowers; they moved in. “I don’t know how he found out,” Rhoads recalls, “but Violet passed away at five in the morning, and by 6:30 am, Chief Khatib was at my door. He told us, ‘I’ve got you. Don’t worry about work. We’ve got you taken care of.’” The support that followed was overwhelming. While the Rhoads family was in the hospital, a crew of officers showed up to landscape their yard so they could return to beauty instead of chores. Officers surrounded them in full uniform during the service like a protective circle of support, not as coworkers, but as a family “standing watch” when Amy and her husband could not. “They hovered over us with their love when we were at our lowest,” Rhoads says. People often see the badge before they see the person wearing it. This is the part of policing that doesn’t make headlines, but it’s what carries you through the darkest days.
VIOLET
Lt. Rhoads and Violet make their first visit to LKPD.
“Policing isn’t about being hardened, it’s about having the courage to care and still show up every day.” – Lt. Amy Rhoads
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New Leads in Decades-Old Case By Laura McCabe LKPD Communications Manager
“It’s been 9,257 days since David James Zimbrick sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl in Naismith Park and when the United States Marshals Service arrested him yesterday,” Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart announced during a press conference held at LKPD Headquarters on December 30, 2025. “Thanks to a very dedicated detective and the assistance of our Investigations Unit, we hope he will never be able to hurt another child.” Today, that public announcement about the arrest of the 58-year-old Raytown, Missouri man doesn’t mark the end of Detective Amy Price’s persistent pursuit for justice. It marks the beginning of a newly expanded investigation. Price responded to the call back in 2000, as a young investigator and appreciates the renewed attention of the case. “It does feel like a huge accomplishment, but it’s really for the victims and their families. It’s not about me. It’s about their well-being, it really is,” says Price. A Trail of Cold Cases The series of crimes began on August 25, 2000, when a 7-year-old girl and two other children were approached by a man in Naismith Valley Park. Offering $20 for help finding a lost item, the man lured the girl into a wooded area and sexually assaulted her. During the initial investigation, retired Detective Mike McAtee collected a cigarette butt at the scene—still smoldering. While a DNA profile was extracted and entered into the national CODIS database, it yielded no matches to identify a potential suspect.
Chief of Police Rich Lockhart and Douglas County District Attorney Dakota Loomis hold a press conference on December 30th, 2025.
In May 2003, a similar assault occurred in the same park involving a 10-year-old boy. DNA from the second case matched the first, but the identity of the predator remained a mystery. At the time, detectives believed at least 5 cases were linked to the same suspect but didn’t have DNA samples to prove a connection. Still, they knew a serial sex predator was on the loose. The breakthrough was made possible by a smoldering cigarette butt collected decades ago and the revolutionary science of forensic genetic genealogy.
NEW LEADS
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We are PROUD to support our Local Law Enforcement. McDonald’s of Lawrence
January 18, 2026
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