On January 10, 1969, Officer James W. Glenn was practicing maneuvers with the department helicopter, when it malfunctioned (the tail rotor failed and fuselage began to spin as it crashed.) The crash occurred at the Kansas City Timing Association drag strip near Front Street and Manchester, southeast of the Chouteau Bridge.

Officer Glenn joined the Kansas City Police Department on July 16, 1960, and graduated from the police academy November 1960. Officer Glenn was with the department for nine years and was survived by his wife and two children.