ROLL CALL
65 Law Enforcement Line-of-Duty Deaths in First Half of 2017
According to preliminary data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, as of June 30, 2017, 65 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty this year, increasing 30 percent over the 50 officers killed during the same period last year.
According to preliminary data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, as of June 30, 2017, 65 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty this year, increasing 30 percent over the 50 officers killed during the same period last year.
LAW ENFORCEMENT FACTS
Important Dates in Law Enforcement History Milestones in the History of the Profession April 1635 The City of Boston establishes a "night watch," in which officers served part-time, without pay. September 24, 1789 The United States Congress creates the first Federal law enforcement officer, the United States Marshal. Thirteen U.S. Marshals were appointed by President George Washington. October 22, 1791 Sheriff Cornelius Hogeboom of Hudson, New York, was shot as he attempted to serve a writ of ejectment becoming the first known law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty. 1835 Texas creates what was later to become the Texas Rangers, the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in America. 1857 The City of Baltimore becomes the first police department to issue pistols to their officers. 1858 Police departments in Boston and Chicago issue uniforms to their officers. April 14, 1865 On the day he was shot by the assassin John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln approves the formation of what is now the United States Secret Service. April 12, 1870 Jacksonville, Florida, Officer William Johnson becomes the first African American police officer to be killed in the line of duty. November 2, 1870 Thomas J. Smith, of Abilene, Kansas, becomes the first of more than 585 Police Chiefs to die in the line of duty. April 1, 1878- April 28, 1881 Notorious outlaw Billy the Kid kills six law enforcement officers in New Mexico: Deputy James W. Bell, Sheriff William Brady, Deputy James Carlysle, Deputy George Hindman, Deputy Marshal Robert Olinger and Deputy Robert Beckwith. October 26, 1881 Legendary Lawman Wyatt Earp, along with his brothers Virgil and Morgan and John Henry "Doc" Holliday, win the Wild West era's most famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. May 6, 1886 Eight Chicago, Illinois Police Officers were mortally wounded during a labor dispute that became known as the Haymarket Riot.: Mathias Degan, John Barrett, Timothy O'Sullivan, Timothy Flavin, Thomas Redden, Nels Hansen, George Miller, and Michael Sheehan. December 15, 1890 Six officers with the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs are killed attempting to arrest the Sioux Indian leader, Sitting Bull: Sergeant James Little Eagle, Sergeant Charles Shavehead, Private Paul Akicitah, Officer John Armstrong, Officer David Hawkman and Lieutenant Henry Bullhead. December 16, 1891 City Health Dept. Inspector Marie Owens is appointed to the Chicago Police Department as a police officer assigned to the Detective Bureau, becoming the nation’s earliest-known female sworn law enforcement officer. 1893 The first national police group is formed, the National Chiefs of Police Union, which would later become the International Association of Chiefs of Police. For the first time, police leaders met regularly to share ideas. 1895 Future President Theodore Roosevelt begins his three-year term of Police Commissioner in New York City. 1902 Fingerprinting is first used in the United States by law enforcement. 1907 The last year in United States history in which fewer than 100 police officers were killed in the line of duty. Ninety-eight officers made the ultimate sacrifice in 1907. 1914 The Berkeley (CA) Police Department becomes the country's first agency to have all patrol officers using automobiles. 1916 Anna Hart, a jail matron for the Hamilton County (OH) Sheriff's Office, becomes the first female law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. 1929 Federal Agent Eliot Ness begins his legendary law enforcement career and is picked to lead a group of agents nicknamed "The Untouchables" — Marty Lahart, Sam Seager, Barney Cloonan, Lyle Chapman, Tom Friel, Joe Leeson, Paul Robsky, Mike King, Bill Gardner, Al 'Wallpaper' Wolff and two other associates, Frank Basile and Jim Seeley. October 3, 1929 Eight Correctional Officers are killed at the Colorado State Penitentiary — the most ever to die in one incident at a correctional institution: Raymond Brown, John Eeles, E G Erwin, J W McClelland, C Walter Rinker, Charles Shepherd, Robert Wiggins and Myron Goodwin. 1930 The single deadliest year in law enforcement history, with 307 officers killed. January 2, 1932 Six lawmen were killed as they attempted to apprehend two suspects wanted in the murder of Greene County Marshal Mark Noe: Greene County Sheriff Marcell Hendrix, Deputy Ollie Crosswhite, Deputy Wiley Mashburn, Springfield Police Chief Detective Tony Oliver, Detective Sidney Meadows and Officer Charley Houser. This incident became known as the Young Brothers Massacre. 1932-1934 John Dillinger and his gang murdered ten law enforcement officers — more than any other outlaw. They were responsible for the deaths of Officer Howard Wagner, Trooper Eugene Teague, Sheriff Jesse Sarber, Sergeant William Shanley, Patrolman William O'Malley, Patrolman Martin O'Brien, Officer Francis Mulvihill, Chief Franklin Culp, Detective Henry Perrow and Undersheriff Charles Cavanagh. November 22, 1963 Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit is shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald after Oswald assassinates President John F. Kennedy. September 1968 Betty Blankenship and Elizabeth Robinson of the Indianapolis (IN) Police Department become the first female police officers in the United States to work as patrol officers on the street. The pair are transferred from administrative assignments after meeting with Chief of Police Winston Churchill and asking to be put on street patrols. April 6, 1970 Four California Highway Patrolmen, James Pence, Roger Gore, Walt Frago and George Alleyn died in a 4 minute gun battle with two heavily-armed suspects. The Newhall Incident, as it became known, reverberated throughout the law enforcement community and led to major reforms in training procedures, firearms use, and arrest techniques. September 1971 Seven Correctional Officers were killed during the riots at the Attica State Prison in upstate New York: William Quinn, Edward Cunningham, John D'Archangelo Jr, Richard Lewis, Carl Valone, Ronald Werner and Harrison Whalen. 1974 Police start wearing soft body armor to protect themselves against handgun assaults. September 20, 1974 Officer Gail Cobb of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., is shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a robbery suspect. Officer Cobb is the first of 55 African-American female officers to be killed in the line of duty. October 19, 1984 President Ronald Reagan signs Public Law 98-534, authorizing the Law Enforcement Officers Fund to establish a Memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. October 15, 1991 The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. February 28, 1993 Four Special Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) were killed attempting to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas: Todd McKeehan, Robert J Williams, Conway LeBleu, and Steven Willis. September 13, 1994 Public Law 103-322 authorizing American Flag to be flown at half-staff on May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day, was enacted into law. April 19, 1995 Timothy McVeigh explodes a truck bomb that destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast kills 168 people, including eight Federal law enforcement officers: Agents Cynthia Brown, Paul Broxterman, Paul Ice, Donald Leonard, Mickey Maroney, Kenneth McCullough, Claude Medearis and Alan Whicher. November 9, 2000 President William Jefferson Clinton signs into law Public Law 106-492, authorizing the NLEOMF to build the National Law Enforcement Museum. The bill was sponsored by U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and U.S. Representative Joel Hefley (R-CO). September 11, 2001 The deadliest day in law enforcement history occurred when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America. 2002 The Department of Homeland Security is formed to lead the unified national effort to secure America. |
LAW ENFORCEMENT FACTS
Deadliest Days in Law Enforcement History July 7, 2016 Dallas (TX) Police Officer Michael Krol, Police Officer Patrick Zamarripa, Sergeant Michael Smith, Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens and Dallas Rapid Area Transit Police Officer Brent Thompson were mortally wounded in an ambush attack during a protest in Dallas, Texas. The suspect was killed during a standoff with police. November 29, 2009 Four members of the Lakewood (WA) Police Department were shot and killed in an ambush attack as they sat in a coffee shop catching up on paperwork and planning for their upcoming shift. A lone gunman walked in and opened fire on the officers, who were in full uniform and wearing protective safety vests. Sergeant Mark Renninger and Officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards were all veteran law enforcement officers, with between 8 and 14 years of experience each. All four had been members of the Lakewood Police Department since it was founded in 2004 in the community outside Tacoma. The officers were the first members of the agency to be killed in the performance of duty. The suspect is a career criminal who had recently been released from jail and has an extensive criminal history in both Washington state and Arkansas. March 21, 2009 Four members of the Oakland (CA) Police Department were shot and killed by the same gunman in two related incidents. Sergeant Mark Dunakin and Officer John Hege, both motorcycle officers, were shot following a traffic stop in East Oakland. Just over two hours later, SWAT team members, responding to an anonymous tip, tracked the gunman to an apartment building just a few blocks from the original shooting scene. As they entered a bedroom, the gunman opened fire through a closet with an assault weapon, striking Sergeant Ervin Romans and Sergeant Dan Sakai. Another member of the SWAT team, though injured himself by gunfire, managed to shoot and kill the suspect, a parolee who had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and was also wanted on a no-bail warrant. September 11, 2001 The deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history, 72 officers were killed as a result of the terrorist attacks on America. Seventy-one of the officers died while responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, including 37 members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department. That represented the single largest loss of law enforcement personnel by a single agency in U.S. history. Also killed at the World Trade Center were 23 members of the New York City Police Department; five members of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance; three members of the New York State Office of Court Administration; and one law enforcement member each of the New York City Fire Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Secret Service. In addition, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer died in the crash of United Flight 93 outside Shanksville, PA; it is believed he was among the passengers who attempted to retake the plane from the terrorists before it crashed. February 27, 1997 Eleven correctional officers, all members of the Georgia Department of Corrections who worked at the Rutledge Correctional Institution, were traveling in a van returning from an emergency response team training class. As they were driving on I-75, a tractor trailer forced them off the road and directly in the path of two tractor trailers heading in the opposite direction. Both semis struck the van simultaneously. Seven of the correctional officers were seriously injured, and four were killed: Sergeant Tommie Lee Goggins, and Officers Carlton Cherry Sr., Eddie Davis and Wayne Griglen. The driver of the vehicle that caused the accident was charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. April 19, 1995 Eight federal law enforcement officers were killed when domestic terrorists led by Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK. The terrorists detonated a massive truck bomb outside building, killing a total of 168 civilians and government workers, including numerous children in an on-site day care facility. Among the law enforcement who died were four members of the U.S. Secret Service: Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alan Whicher and Special Agents Cynthia Brown, Donald Leonard and Mickey Maroney. Also killed were Senior Special Agents Paul Ice and Claude Medearis of the U.S. Customs Service, Special Agents Paul Broxterman of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Special Agent Kenneth McCullough of the Drug Enforcement Administration. August 27, 1994 Five Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents died in a plane crash during a reconnaissance mission near Santa Lucia, Peru. This mission was being flown as part of Operation Snowcap, DEA's cocaine suppression program in Latin America. Killed were Special Agents Frank Fernandez Jr., Jay Seale, Meredith Thompson, Juan Vars and Frank Wallace. February 28, 1993 Four Special Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) were killed attempting to execute a search warrant for weapons at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX: Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert J. Williams and Steven Willis. The Branch Davidians were a religious cult that idolized their leader, David Koresh. A two-month standoff followed the initial raid and ended when the Branch Davidians conducted a mass murder-suicide, which resulted in the deaths of over 80 of its members. August 24, 1990 Four law enforcement officers with the U.S. Coast Guard died in an airplane accident over the Caribbean. After the officers completed a counter-drug surveillance mission, the E-2C Hawkeye aircraft in which they were traveling experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed as the pilot was attempting to land at a base in Puerto Rico. Killed were Petty Officer Matthew Baker and Lieutenants Craig Lerner, Paul Perlt and Duane Stenback. October 24, 1988 Five California law enforcement officers were killed in a helicopter crash during a joint drug interdiction mission. The helicopter snagged on a power line and exploded into a hillside in western Imperial County. Killed in the incident were Deputy Sheriffs Roy Chester and James McSweeney of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; Investigator Michael Davis of the Riverside County Sheriff's Office; Sergeant Richard Romero of the Imperial County Sheriff's Office, and Deputy Sheriff Mark Tonkin of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Three National Guardsmen also died in the crash. July 5, 1984 Four members of the DeQueen (AR) Police Department were killed in a head-on automobile accident. The officers-Sergeant Roy Brewer, Patrolmen William Gilham and Herman Jones, Captain William Mills-were traveling to attend the funeral of Arkansas State Police Trooper Louis Bryant. Trooper Bryant had been shot and killed in the line of duty six days earlier. December 16, 1982 FBI Special Agents Robert Conners, Charles Ellington Terry Herford and Michael Lynch all died in an aircraft accident while on approach to Cincinnati's Lunken Airport. The agents were escorting a bank fraud suspect and his lawyer to Cincinnati as part of an ongoing investigation. December 31, 1972 - January 7, 1973 Over the course of this eight-day period, five law enforcement officers in New Orleans were shot and killed by a sniper who was a member of the radical group, Black Panthers. New Orleans Police Cadet Alfred Harrell was shot and killed just before 11 pm on New Year's Eve, just five minutes before he was scheduled to end his shift working the gate at Central Lockup. Minutes later, the suspect shot Sergeant Edwin Hosli, who was searching a nearby warehouse after an alarm went off. Sergeant Hosli succumbed to his wounds on March 5, 1973. On January 7, 1973, the same suspect shot and killed Deputy Superintendent Louis Sirgo and Patrolmen Philip Coleman and Paul Persigo, after setting fires and shooting at civilians in a hotel. The suspect was shot and killed by police, who used a Marine helicopter to fly over the hotel he was holed up in and fire at him. September 11-13, 1971 Seven Correctional Officers were killed during inmate riots at the Attica State Prison in upstate New York. On September 9, a group of inmates began the riot and took control of a large portion of the prison; in the process, they severely beat Correctional Officer William Quinn, who died two days later. Later that day, State Police retook most of the prison, but nearly 1,300 convicts occupied an exercise field, where they held 39 prison guards and employees hostage for four days. After negotiations stalled, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered the State Police to regain control of the prison by force. During the operation, six other correctional officers were killed: Edward Cunningham, John D'Archangelo Jr., Richard Lewis, Carl Valone, Ronald Werner and Harrison Whalen. Twenty-nine inmates and three civilian employees were also killed. April 6, 1970 Four California Highway Patrolmen — George Alleyn, Walt Frago, Roger Gore and James Pence — died in a fierce, four-minute gun battle with two heavily-armed suspects near Valencia. Patrolmen Frago and Gore were shot and killed in the driveway of a service station after following a suspicious vehicle. Patrolmen Alleyn and Pence were the backup and arrived shortly thereafter, only to be killed in the ensuing gun battle. The gunmen were able to make the escape after firing upon the third and fourth units to arrive on the scene. One of the offenders was later captured, and the other committed suicide after taking several hostages. The Newhall Incident, named for the California Highway Patrol station where the officers worked, reverberated throughout the law enforcement community and led to major reforms in training procedures, firearms use and arrest techniques. October 30, 1950 Eight members of the Puerto Rico Police Department were shot and killed during a political revolt led by the Nationalist Party, which was attempting to overthrow U.S. presence on the island. The insurrection called for the attack of every police department and military installation on Puerto Rico. The carnage almost was averted: the day before the planned attack, a large number of arrests were made by the Puerto Rico Police and FBI. However, the assault still went on and led to the deaths of dozens of individuals, including the eight law enforcement officials: Chief of Police Aurelio Miranda-Rivera, Lieutenant Ramon Villanueva-Moro, Corporal Ramon Robles-Castillo, and Policemen Virgilio Camacho-Reyes, Jesus Felciano-Ruiz, Luis Rivera-Cardona and Dionisio Rivera-Yolistruck. January 2, 1932 In what became known as the Young Brothers Massacre, six Missouri lawmen were killed as they attempted to apprehend two suspects wanted in the murder of Greene County Marshal Mark Noe. They were Greene County Sheriff Marcell Hendrix; Deputies Ollie Crosswhite and Wiley Mashburn; and Chief of Detectives Tony Oliver, Detective Sidney Meadows and Officer Charley Houser, all of the Springfield Police Department. Acting on a tip, an 11-man posse went to the family farm belonging to the Young clan and surrounded the residence in an attempt to arrest the suspects. The posse was fired upon, and Sheriff Hendrix and Deputy Mashburn were struck. After witnessing the shooting, Deputy Crosswhite ran to the back of the house and entered through the kitchen door, hoping to catch the shooters off guard. But as he went to the back of the house he was fatally shot. The other three lawmen were killed in the ensuing shootout. The suspects fled to Texas, but were eventually tracked down. They committed suicide once their residence was surrounded. October 3, 1929 Eight members of the Colorado Department of Corrections — Raymond Brown, John Eeles, Elmer Erwin, Myron H. Goodwin, John McClelland, Walter Rinker, Charles Shepherd and Robert Wiggins — were all killed in a deadly riot at the Colorado State Penitentiary. This incident was preceded earlier that summer by a series of riots in two New York prisons and the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, KS. In the Colorado riot, large sections of the prison were destroyed by fire, and it is estimated that more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition were fired during the melee. Though he ultimately died seven days later from gunshot wounds to the chest, Officer Goodwin is credited with helping stop a general break by the 1,200 inmates. Stationed in tower No. 1, Officer Goodwin threw away his keys when the attack started and began firing. He is credited with fatally shooting the ring leader of the disturbance. February 20, 1927 Petty Officer Clarence Alexander, along with seven other crew members, drowned in a boating accident while on patrol for rum runners along the Cape Cod coast on February 20, 1927. Their picket boat CG-238 was disabled in a 70 mile gale and in a heavy snowstorm that lasted over 12 hours. The crew radioed for help but the boat crashed before assistance arrived. Warrant Officer Jesse Rivenback, Petty Officers Joseph Maxim, Cornelius Shea, Leo Krzyzanowski, Charles Freeburn, Raymond Clark and Frank McCausland all died in this incident. November 24, 1917 In what remains the second deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history (after September 11, 2001), nine Milwaukee Police officers were killed in a bomb blast at a police station. It was a Saturday evening, and a suspicious package was discovered alongside the Italian Evangelical Church in downtown Milwaukee. A scrubwoman for the church had discovered the package, and a boy named Sam Mazzone was summoned to take it to the police station. The boy arrived with the package shortly after 7 pm, as a group of detectives was filing out of roll call in the first floor assembly room. According to a police department report, “As detectives examined the package with a fury of haste, it exploded, immediately killing [nine police officers.]” The officers killed were Patrolman Henry Deckert and Detectives Frank Caswin, Fred Kaiser, David O'Brien, Stephen H. Stecker, Charles Seehawer, Edward Spindler, Al Templin and Paul Weiler. The culprits were never caught, but police linked the bombing to a group of anarchists who were seeking revenge against the pastor of the church that had been targeted. April 6, 1902 Sheriff Charles Gassaway and five Colbert County (AL) Deputy Sheriffs were shot and killed while attempting to arrest a suspect for a fraud offense. The suspect informed the sheriff that he would be ready to go in a moment but returned with a Winchester rifle, immediately shooting Sheriff Gassaway and brother, Deputy William Gassaway. The suspect then barricaded himself in the house as other deputies arrived at the scene. Firing from inside the house, he shot and mortally wounded Deputies Jesse Davis, James Payne, Pat Prout and Bob Wallace. The suspect was eventually shot and killed after officers opened fire with more than 1,000 rounds. September 8, 1900 On the evening of September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane (Category 4 by today's standards) struck the Gulf Coast at Galveston, TX. An estimated 8,000 people were killed, and the Galveston Police Department lost more than half of its officers in the storm. Four of those officers — Adolph Howe, F.L. Richards, Samuel Tovrea and Charles Wolfe — were killed as they attempted to rescue several families trapped in the downtown area. July 27-28, 1900 The day after a suspect shot and wounded a New Orleans Police officer, a team of officers tracked the suspect to his home. When they entered, the suspect opened fire with a .38 caliber Winchester rifle, mortally wounding Captain John Day and Patrolman Peter Lamb. Other officers immediately surrounded the home, but the suspect was able to escape. Investigators soon received a tip with a location where the suspect was hiding. When officers arrived at the scene, the suspect shot and killed Sergeant Gabriel Porteous and Corporal John Lally and wounded three other officers before being killed himself. July 19, 1898 An employee of an explosives company murdered a fellow worker in a dispute over lottery tickets, then barricaded himself in the building and threatened to blow it up if an attempt was made to arrest him. The standoff continued into the next day, when the suspect told a sheriff's deputy that he was ready to come out. As the deputies approached the building, an explosion shook the site, killing Deputies Daniel Cameron, Gustave Koch, John Lerri, Charles White and George Woodsum of the Alameda County (CA) Sheriff's Office. A female bystander and the suspect were also killed in the blast. December 15, 1890 Six officers with the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs eventually died after attempting to arrest Sitting Bull, the leader of the Sioux Indian tribe in South Dakota: Lieutenant Henry Bullhead, Sergeants James Little Eagle and Charles Shavehead, Private Paul Akicitah, and Officers John Armstrong and David Hawkman. After arresting the Chief, the officers were traveling back to their headquarters when they were attacked by a group led by the chief's son. Four officers were killed immediately and two were seriously wounded in the attack. The Sioux Chief was also killed, along with his son. The two injured officers later died of their wounds. May 4, 1886 Eight Chicago Police officers eventually died following a violent labor dispute known as the Haymarket Riot. The officers were at the scene of a civil disturbance when the rioters opened fire and threw a bomb into the crowd. Killed in May 1890 were Patrolmen John Barrett, Mathias Degan, Nels Hansen, George Miller, Thomas Redden, and Michael Sheehan. Patrolman Timothy O'Sullivan succumbed to his injuries two years later, in June 1888. Seventy other people were injured by the gunfire and explosion. May 1, 1885 Four members of the U.S. Marshals Service were shot and killed when their posse was ambushed while attempting to arrest several horse thieves near Calico Creek, Oklahoma. Deputy Marshal Jim Guy and Special Deputy Marshals Bill Kirksey, Andy Roff and James Roff were all shot and killed. Two of the suspects were also fatally shot, and two others were charged with murder, although they were acquitted. March 14, 1873 Following the wounding in January 1873 of the Sheriff of Lampasas County, TX, a posse of seven state police officers was sent to a saloon to enforce a law prohibiting the wearing of side arms. The posse had arrested one man outside the saloon, and when they attempted to enter the saloon a gun battle ensued and three members of the Texas State Police were killed instantly: Captain Thomas Williams and Privates Wesley Cherry and J.M. Daniels. Private Andrew Melville died one month later from wounds he suffered in the gunfight. April 15, 1872 Eight Deputy U.S. Marshals were shot and killed in what came to be known as the Going Snake Massacre, which occurred in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The lawmen went to a murder trial armed with an arrest warrant to detain the defendant if he was acquitted. As the lawmen approached the building, they were fired upon by a group of men who were waiting inside. Six members of the posse were killed on the spot: Special Deputies Black Sut Beck, Sam Beck, William Hicks, Jim Ward and Riley Woods, along with Posseman George Selvidge. Posseman William Beck and Deputy Marshal Jacob Owens died the next day of their wounds. November 16, 1859 What became known as the Cortina War started when Juan Cortina, the heir to a large land grant in the lower Rio Grande valley that included the area around Brownsville, witnessed the city marshal pistol-whipping an intoxicated Mexican citizen who had previously been employed by the Cortina family. Cortina shot the marshal in the shoulder and fled on his horse with the prisoner. In September 1859, Cortina and 60-100 men rode into Brownsville intent on seeking revenge for numerous grievances. The Governor or Texas Governor Runnels authorized a company of 100 rangers from San Antonio to quell the lawlessness in Brownsville. On November 16, a detachment of 30 rangers spotted a band of Cortinistas about a mile from Palo Alto and pursued them into the chaparral. In a vicious gunfight that lasted only 30 minutes, Texas Ranger Privates John Fox, Thomas Grier, William McKay and Nicholas R. Milett were killed, and four others were badly wounded. January 23, 1857 Los Angeles County (CA) Sheriff James Barton and three of his officers-Constables Charles Baker and William Little and Deputy Charles Daly-were shot and killed while attempting to arrest members of the notorious Flores-Daniels Gang. The gang ambushed the officers, killing them. Eventually, 52 members of the gang were arrested and 18 were hung for the murders. |
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