SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty will receive a national award from the National Sheriffs’ Association this summer, according to a media release from the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputy Robert Kunze III will be honored with the Charles “Bud” Meeks Award Deputy Sheriff of the year for Valor. His family will receive the award for him on June 17 in Louisville, Kentucky, at the association’s annual conference.

The award, given annually by the National Sheriffs’ Association, recognizes a deputy sheriff who has made outstanding contributions to law enforcement and his/her agency or who has demonstrated conspicuous bravery in the performance of his/her duties.  The award is given in memory and in honor of Sheriff Bud Meeks from Allen County, Indiana, who was a previous Executive Director of the National Sheriffs’ Association.

Kunze was fatally shot on Sept. 16, 2018, while trying to handcuff a man on suspicion of vehicle theft about 20 miles west of downtown Wichita.

Before he died, Kunze shot and killed his attacker, 29-year-old Robert Greeson, likely saving the lives of two witnesses hiding nearby.