Ellis Police Department
ELLIS — On April 16, 2026, Ellis Police Department officers, both former and current, were given recognition at the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police "Valor Awards Banquet" for their efforts in saving a life after an attempted suicide.
During the late evening hours of June 20, 2024, former Ellis Police Department Sergeant Benjamin Kolas received a request for a welfare check on an individual who had made suicidal comments to their family. The individual was out on bond with an ankle monitor while awaiting final sentencing and remanding to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Due to the situation, Sergeant Kolas summoned additional Ellis Police Department personnel, former Officer Colin Pritchett (now a deputy with the Ellis County Sheriff's Office), and Chief Avery Smith to the scene to assist.
Officers discussed a plan of action and attempted to make contact with the individual at their residence in the 300 block of E. 16th in Ellis.
While checking the individual's property, officers heard someone in the garage located on the property in apparent agonizing distress. Officers formed up on the side door to the garage and forced entry, kicking open a locked door and forcing their way past two 300-pound tool carts that were used to barricade the door to prevent entry.
Upon entering the garage, officers located the individual with severe lacerations to their wrists from an eight-inch survival knife. It is estimated that the individual lost approximately three pints of blood in the attempt on their own life.
Under extreme pressure and working against the clock, Officer Pritchett applied a tourniquet to one of the individual's arms, stopping the flow of blood to the wound located on that arm. Another tourniquet was not readily available, so Sergeant Kolas had Chief Smith retrieve a blood pressure cuff from a medical kit that had been recovered earlier in the incident. Sergeant Kolas applied the blood pressure cuff and inflated it, ultimately stopping the flow of blood to the wound on the other arm. Officers then worked diligently to treat and bandage the open wounds.
The Ellis Police Department provided emergency life-saving treatment to the individual for approximately 10 minutes before care was passed on to our partners at Ellis County EMS. The individual was later flown to a Wichita area hospital for emergency surgery, where they survived their injuries.
I am thankful for the efforts of my officers on that day.
Avery A. Smith
Chief of Police
Ellis Police Department