William Henry Abbott - Deputy Sheriff
Cleveland County Sheriff's Office    February 17, 1912

William H. Abbott was born on March 18, 1872, in Woodford, Woodford County, Illinois to George Lamen and Hanna Elizabeth (Lambert) Abbott. By early 1891 William Abbott had come to Oklahoma and married eighteen-year-old Carria Zinobia Boggs in Cleveland County on March 8, 1891. The couple settled on a farm northeast of Norman in Cleveland County. Later William Abbott was commissioned as a Deputy Sheriff for the Cleveland County Sheriff.

William D. George came to Oklahoma from Arkansas and served as the postmaster of Denver, a small town six miles east of Norman. Following his service as postmaster, William George began exhibiting mental abnormalities and was placed in the local metal asylum on two occasions.

On Wednesday, February 14, 1912, Deputy Sheriff William Abbott, 39, was attempting to serve yet another warrant for insanity on William D. George. About noon Deputy Sheriff Abbott located William George who was having lunch at Sam Russell’s farm east of Denver. When Sam Russell mentioned seeing Deputy Sheriff Abbott approaching the house, Wiliam George fled out the back door, grabbing Sam Russell’s shotgun on his way out.

Deputy Sheriff William Abbott entered the farmhouse by way of the front door and when Sam Russell advised him that William George had run out the back door, Deputy Sheriff Abbott went back out the front door. As Deputy Abbott came out the front door William George was by the corner of the front of the house and shot Deputy Abbott with number eight shot from a range of about twelve feet striking Deputy Sheriff Abbott in the left side. Abbott was able to fire one round from his revolver which missed William George, then Abbott collapsed on the porch. William George then ran off.

Deputy Sheriff William Abbott died from his shotgun wound the afternoon of Saturday, February 17, 1912, a month, and a day before his fortieth birthday, leaving his wife Carria and their eight children, Della Mae, 21, Cora Bell, 19, George Charles, 17, Nathan Wallace, 16, Viola Mary, 12, William Henry, 10, Frank Ray, 5 and Walter Scott, 2.

William Abbott is buried in the IOOF Cemetery, Norman, Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

William George was arrested about two miles south of the Sam Russell farm the morning of Satrday, February 17, just hours before Deputy Sheriff William Abbott died.

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Updated August 7, 2023

George Wesley Adair -  Deputy U. S. Marshal / Constable  

U.S. Marshal  Service/ City of Boswell    Septrmber 11, 1921

The afternoon of Saturday, September 10, 1921, Deputy U. S. Marshal, and Boswell Constable George Adair, 50, was in Boswell (Choctaw County) walking to have dinner with J. C. Watson when they met Jim Cutshaw in front of the hardware store. Only a few words were spoken before Jim Cutshaw pulled a gun from his front trousers pocket and fired at least one time at Deputy Marshal George Adair before Adair drew his gun and fired. When the shooting was over Deputy Marshal George Adair had been shot four times and Jim Cutshaw was slightly wounded. There had been hard feelings between the two men ever since Deputy Marshal Adair arrested Jim Cutshaw following a moonshine raid on Cutshaw’s home. Jim Cutshaw had already served a term in jail following the raid.

Deputy Marshal George Adair died from his wounds the next morning, Sunday, September 11, 1921, about 8 a.m.  

Jim Cutshaw was charged with murder but was found guilty of First-Degree Manslaughter and received a prison sentence of four years.

Deputy Marshal George Adair was survived by his wife Eva and their three children and is buried in Restland Cemetery, Boswell, Choctaw County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Samuel E Adair - Special Agent

St Louis & San Francisco Railroad       May 3, 1922

Agent Adair, 47, was patrolling the West Tulsa yard of the Frisco Railroad just before midnight Tuesday, May 2, 1922, when he was apparently struck by a part of a passing freight train which caused him to stager on to the tracks in front of a switch engine going the opposite direction on an adjoining track. Adair’s left leg was severed near his thigh and his right foot was mangled in addition to head injuries.

It was first thought that Adair had been struck in the head with a board causing him to stager on to the tracks. Adair had shot and killed a Mexican laborer the previous fall and ill feelings were aroused by the community of Mexican laborers who lived in the box cars near where Adair was struck by the engine.

Agent Adair died at 1:10 a.m., Wednesday morning, May 3rd.

Adair was survived by his wife Mary Jane and six children.

Samuel Adair is buried in Buffington Cemetery, Sallisaw, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Charles W. Adams - Constable

City of Tom       September 5, 1949

Constable Charles Adams, 69, a retired railroad engineer, was attempting to arrest a black man named Henry Hill, 42, for drunk and disorderly about 9 a.m. the morning of Saturday, September 3, 1949, when Henry Hill shot him three times with a .32 caliber revolver. Constable Charles Adams was struck in the throat, chest and in one shoulder. The shooting occurred one mile north and one mile west of Idabel where Henry Hill was helping build a house. Henry Hill was arrested hiding in a cotton field eight miles from the scene of the shooting the next day.

Constable Charles Adams died from his wounds two days later the afternoon of Monday, September 5, 1949.

Charles Adams was survived by his wife Agnes and three children and is buried in Bokhoma Cemetery, Haworth, McCurtain County, Oklahoma.

Henry Hill was convicted of the murder of Constable Charles Adams and was sentenced to life in prison.

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Updated August 7, 2023

M.H. Adams - Posse for Deputy U.S. Marshal

U. S. Marshal Service   October 1, 1873

On Wednesday, October 1, 1873, Deputy U. S. Marshal Seth Beardsley, and his posse M. H. Adams were taking twenty-six Osage Indians who were charged with murder back to Fort Smith for trial. The day grew late, so the two lawmen set up camp thirty miles from Fort Gibson near Kansas, Indian Territory, in the Cherokee Country. The prisoners were secured, but sometime during the night the prisoners were able to secure a gun, shoot both of the lawmen to death and escape. Even though the U. S. Army helped other deputy marshals in the search no record can be found of the identity of the escaped prisoners or if they were ever recaptured.

M. H. Adams’ burial site is unknown.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Thomas C. Adkins - City Marshal

City of Dewar      July 25, 1974

Thomas Adkins, 45, had been City Marshal of Dewar for two weeks when at 11:09 p.m., Thursday, July 25, 1974, he stopped a pickup while answering a prowler call. As City Marshal Thomas Adkins approached the pickup, the driver, twenty-year-old Darrell Andrews, fired a 12-gauge shotgun at him but missed. City Marshal Adkins turned to return to his patrol car when Darrell Andrews fired again, striking the City Marshal in the back of the head, killing him.

Darrell Andrews would also kill Henryetta Auxiliary Police Officer Walter T. Hembree and Okmulgee County Deputy Sheriff Burton Brewer within the hour before being wounded and taken into custody.

City Marshal Thomas Adkins was survived by his wife Hazel and five stepchildren.

Thomas Adkins is buried in Little Cemetery, Little, Seminole County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Homer Adrean - Deputy Sheriff

Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office       August 28, 1920

On Saturday, August 28, 1920, Stanton Weiss and Reed Miller, Federal Prohibition Agents, along with Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriffs Claude Tyler and Homer Adrean, 40, went to the home of Charles Chandler, just across the Logan County line near Arcadia, who reportedly was the connection to all the illegal liquor in the area. The lawmen found a still some distance from the house. Federal Agent Reed Miller stayed to guard the still while the other three officers approached the Chandler house.

Deputy Sheriff Claude Tyler went to the back door as Federal Agent Stanton Weiss and Deputy Sheriff Homer Adrean knocked on the front door. After entering the house, Deputy Sheriff Claude Tyler was sent upstairs to conduct a search. Finding several containers of illegal liquor Deputy Sheriff Tyler leaned his rifle against the wall to take a closer look at his findings.  Charles Chandler who was nearby grabbed the rifle and shot Deputy Sheriff Claude Tyler in the neck. Hearing the gunshots upstairs, Claude Chandler, the 18-year-old son of Charles, pulled a .32 caliber handgun and shot Federal Agent Stanton Weiss in the face.  The two Chandler men then ran out the backdoor, but first Claude Chandler fired one more bullet into the prone Federal Agent Stanton Weiss killing him.

As Charles Chandler rounded the corner of the house he was shot and killed by Deputy Sheriff Homer Adrean.  Claude Chandler, who was following his father, then shot Deputy Sheriff Homer Adrean, killing him.

Federal Agent Reed Miller, hearing the gunfire, ran toward the house and was met by Claude Chandler running away from the house. Federal Agent Reed Miller arrested Claude Chandler and recovered the .32 caliber revolver that Claude Chandler had thrown into the bushes. Deputy Sheriff Claude Tyler was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City where he made a full recovery.  Claude Chandler was taken to the Oklahoma County Jail in Oklahoma City.

Shortly after 10 p.m. the next evening, Sunday, August 29th, a mob of about thirty men broke into the Oklahoma County jail and removed Claude Chandler. Claude Chandler’s body was found shot in the head and hanging from a tree on Reno Avenue near Council Road the following morning.

Homer Adrean was survived by his wife Mina and is buried in Rose Hill Burial Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Robert Eugene Ake - State Trooper

Oklahoma Highway Patrol      September 18, 1972

Trooper Robert Ake, 28, apparently had stopped a vehicle near NE 36th and Westminster, in far northeast Oklahoma City, shortly before 10 p.m., Monday night, September 18, 1972. Soon afterwards Trooper Robert Ake was found lying shot in front of his highway patrol unit with his service revolver missing.  Trooper Robert Ake was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Trooper Robert Ake had not radioed in any information on the vehicle, or its occupants and no witnesses were immediately found. Seven months later Jerry Cudjo, 19, was arrested with Trooper Robert Ake’s missing .357 revolver. Jerry Cudjo was tried and convicted of the murder of Trooper Robert Ake and was sentenced to life in prison.

Robert Ake served as an Alva Police Officer before becoming a state highway patrol Trooper and was survived by his wife Donna and two sons, four-year-old Steven and twenty-two-month-old Richard.

Robert Ake is buried in Orion Cemetery, Orion, Major County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Rondal Ray Alexander - State Trooper

Oklahoma Highway Patrol      July 3, 1978

On the morning of Monday, July 3, 1978, Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) Trooper Richard Oldaker, 33, was piloting a Cessna 182 single engine aircraft with OHP Trooper Rondal Alexander, 34, and U. S. Army Military Police Officer Ronald D. Russell on board as observers. The plane was being used as a traffic spotter aircraft for holiday traffic.  About 11 a.m. the aircraft stuck a high voltage electric guy wire and crashed about three miles northwest of McKnight in Harman County, near the Texas border, on the bank of the Salt Fork River killing all three officers.

The wreckage was discovered about 3 p.m. that afternoon by the wife and son of Calvin Argo owners of the land where the crash occurred while they were looking for some of their cattle.

Trooper Rondal Alexander was survived by his wife Patricia and three sons, Jeffery Wayne, Jay Charles, and Randy Allen.

Rondal Alexander is buried in Cache Cemetery, Cache, Comanche County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

William Oscar Alexander - City  Marshal

City of  Hoxbar      September 1, 1916

illiam O. Alexander was born in Rutherford, North Carolina, on April 15, 1883, to William J. and Martha C (McFarland) Alexander. Around 1904 William J. and Martha C. Alexander left North Carolina for Oklahoma settling in Ardmore with their son, William O. Alexander, who was about twenty-one years old at the time.

About 10 p.m. Friday night September 1, 1916, near the edge of Hoxbar, southeast of Ardmore the Love brothers George and Mose were pulling a wagon containing nineteen cases of whiskey with a team of mules when City Marshal William Alexander, 33, and three Ardmore officers intercepted their illegal cargo and a shootout erupted. Mose Love was seriously wounded but would survive. George Love fired at City Marshal William Alexander with his shot gun, the blast striking Alexander killing him instantly.

William “Oscar” Alexander was survived by his wife Hanna May and seven-year-old son George O. and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Ardmore, Carter County, Oklahoma.

George Love was convicted of City Marshal William “Oscar” Alexander’s death and sentenced to eight years in prison. Mose Love was acquitted.

OLEM – 4S-2-16 (Oscar W Alexander)  NLEOM – 50E23

Updated September 7, 2023

Billy Dewayne Allen, Sr. - Captain

Fort Sill Police Department

U.S. Department of Defense  December 6, 2020

Billy Allen served ten years in the U.S. Army, September 1991 to August 2001 as a Military Police Officer (MP). Billy Allen then began his career as a civilian police officer continuing to work for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) with the Fort Sill Police Department.

Captain Billy Allen, 49, had served nineteen years with the Fort Sill Police Department when he contracted the Covid-19 virus while performing his law enforcement duties. Captain Billy Allen died from complications of the Covid virus on Sunday, December 6, 2020.

Captain Billy Allen was survived by his wife of thirty years, Julie and their six adult children, two daughters Melissa and her husband Shawn Mullins, and Megan and husband Daniel Reeves, and four sons Demarcus Robinson, Jacob and his wife Hollie, Billy Allen, Jr. and Eion Allen. Billy Allen, Sr. was also survived by eight grandchildren.

Billy D. Allen, Sr.’s earthly remains were cremated.

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Updated December 5, 2023

David Evan Allford -  Deputy Sheriff

Okfuskee County Sheriff's Office        September 11, 2013

At 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, September 11, 2013, Deputy Sheriff David Allford, 37, was responding to a call for assistance with “a combative subject” from an Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) Trooper on I-40 west of Okemah. Near mile marker 218 west bound on I-40 the front left tire blew out on Deputy Sheriff David Allford’s 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe patrol vehicle. The Tahoe ran off the interstate, hit a cable barrier, flipped twice and Deputy Sheriff David Allford was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The combative subject, Paul Louis Toran, Jr. was arrested by OHP on complaints of assault and battery on a peace officer, resisting arrest and driving under the influence.

Deputy Sheriff David Allford was survived by his wife Becky and their two children Shelby and Wyatt and is buried in Wetumka Cemetery, Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

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William Glenn Allison - Patrolman

Tulsa Police Department      February 7, 1918

William Allison was born June 5, 1887, in Cherry Fork, Adams County, Ohio to James D. and Nettie Ann (Pittenger) Allison.

The morning of Thursday, February 7, 1918, Officer William Allison, 30, was guarding two robbery suspects in his patrol car while other officers were attempting to locate and arrest a third suspect. One of the two suspects, John “Woody” Russell located a tire pump and struck Officer Allison in the head, knocking him unconscious. John Russell then took the unconscious officer’s gun and started to drive off in the police car as Officer Allison began to regain consciousness on the floorboard of the car.  John Russell then shot Officer Allison in the stomach.

After a short distance Russell wrecked the police car, fled on foot and caught an eastbound freight train.

Officer William Allison died that Thursday afternoon from a fractured skull caused by the blow to the head by John Russell.  

Patrolman William Glenn Allison was survived by his wife and three children and is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery, Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma.

John Russell was arrested eleven days later in Joplin, Missouri. John Russell was later convicted of the murder of Officer William Allison and sentenced to life in prison.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Alexander  Apgriffeth "Griff" Anderson - City Marshal / Deputy Sheriff

City of Verden / Grady County Sheriff’s Office       December 3, 1925

City Marshal “Griff” Anderson’s body was found in a Rock Island Railroad boxcar the morning of December 3, 1925. His gun and extra bullets were missing. He had been dragged 350 feet into the boxcar from in front of Bruce’s Garage in Verden. According to a doctor’s report “his head had been pounded into a jelly” sometime during the night.

City Marshal “Griff” Anderson, 41, left behind his pregnant wife, Pearl, three daughters and a stepson and is buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma.

George W. Smith had been a Deputy Sheriff until about a year before Anderson was killed. After Anderson’s death Smith was again appointed a Deputy taking Anderson’s place with the Grady County Sheriff’s Office. Five years later George W. Smith confessed to taking part in Anderson’s death and was sentenced to life in prison.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Peter "Pete" Anderson - Posse. Deputy Sheriff
Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office     December 26, 1890

Peter Anderson was born in Illinois about 1845 and was the third child of John and Marie (Trombla) Anderson. By 1848 Marie Anderson and the three children, John (born 1837), Mary (born 1838) and Peter, were living with the Citizen Band Potawatomi tribe at Council Bluff, Iowa. About 1851 the three Anderson children moved to near Silver Lake, Kansas with their maternal Grandmother, Archange Wilmette.

In early July 1871, Peter Anderson, 27, married Julia Hardin, 16, in Shawnee County, Kansas. Julia was the daughter of John and Margarette (LaFromboise) Hardin and was born about 1854 at Council Bluff. Julia was the younger sister of Elizabeth Hardin, who was married to Peter’s older brother John.

Later in 1871 Peter and Julia Anderson came to the “Pott County” with the first group of Citizen Band Potawatomi to relocate to the Indian Territory from Kansas. Peter and Julia began a family at their first home in Oklahoma about eighteen miles northeast of Purcell, near Wanette.

By 1889 Peter Anderson and his children had left the southern part of the reservation and had selected land allotments in the far northwest corner of the reservation near present day Choctaw. Peter Anderson’s place was called the Lazy A.

On December 26, 1890, Peter Anderson, 40, and Frank Cook were deputized by Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriffs Frank Gault and Charles Gilbert to assist them in serving an arrest warrant on John Bly just across the county line in Pottawatomie County. As the posse dismounted their horses and were attempting to sneak up in the area of the Bly ranch they were fired upon by John Bly with a rifle and the first shot struck Posse Peter Anderson in the forehead, killing him instantly. John Bly was wounded by the other posse members and taken into custody.

Peter Anderson was survived by his seven children, William, Isabelle, George, Nellie, Davis, Frank, and Benjamin. Peter’s wife Julia had died while giving birth to their seventh child, Benjamin in 1886.  Most of the children went on to live at Sacred Heart Mission after their father’s death. 

The final resting place of Peter Anderson is unknown, but is believed to be Elmwood Cemetery, on land once owned by Peter’s friend, Frank Cook, who was with him when he died.

John Bly was taken to Wichita, Kansas for safekeeping but soon escaped the jail there. He was captured in Mexico in October 1892 and taken back to the Wichita jail then transferred to the Federal Jail in Guthrie, Oklahoma in early December.

John Bly was tried for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Posse Peter Anderson, but the jury was deadlocked, and a new trial ordered. John Bly died in the federal jail in Guthrie of consumption in December 1892 before his second trial scheduled for April 17, 1893, in Oklahoma City.

OLEM – 9S-1-2  NLEOM – 56E25

Updated August 7, 2023

John Alexander Armstrong - Constable

City of Tecumseh   July 11, 1940

Constable John Armstrong, 59, and Constable John Parman went to the farm of Jake Alexander about 11:15 a.m. on July 11, 1940, to serve a judgment against Alexander for an unpaid bill of $7.10 worth of gasoline plus court cost for a total of less than $15. When Jake Alexander told the officers that he could not pay the judgment at that time they advised him they would have to take his car as collateral until he could pay it. Jake Alexander walked back inside his house and returned with a 16-gauge shotgun.  When the officers started toward him Jake Alexander shot Constable John Armstrong in the upper chest and neck, severing his juggler vein.  Armstrong died shortly afterwards, six days before his sixtieth birthday on July 17th. He had been a Constable for sixteen years.

Constable John Armstrong was survived by his wife Ella, and their adult children, son Lorrimer and daughter Zella.

John Armstrong is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Arthur D. Arnet - City Marshal

City of McCloud   April 21, 1911

Arthur D. Arnett was born Monday, February 2, 1880, near Fort Scott, Kansas. In 1895 he came to the area of Lincoln County with his mother. In 1900 Arthur Arnett married Anna Hayes.

On Wednesday, February 1, 1911, the day before his thirty-first birthday, Arthur Arnett was hired as the City Marshal of McLoud in Pottawatomie County.

Early the morning of Friday, April 21, 1911, City Marshal Arthur Arnett, 31, was making his rounds accompanied by George Bowman, a local livery stable owner. City Marshal Arnett had met George Bowman as Bowman was walking home from the train station.

At 2:05 a.m. City Marshal Arnett noticed the cellar door ajar on John Seikel’s store which was secure on his last round an hour earlier.  City Marshal Arnett opened the cellar door and found two men hiding just inside the door. Marshal Arnett ordered them out and as they were coming up out of the cellar, the second man started shooting.  One shot hit City Marshal Arnett in the head above the right ear, killing him.  George Bowman was also slightly wounded in the leg. The two burglars fled the area.

City Marshal Arthur Arnett was survived by Annie, his wife of eleven years and their five children, Irving, 10, Christina, 8, John, 6, Lillie Belle, 3, and Rosa, 1.

Arthur Arnett is buried in Jamison Cemetery, Jacktown, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Bart Lane Arnold – Officer

Enid Police Department  January 3, 2022

Bart Arnold was born in Salina, Kansas to John M. and Jean B. (Alban) Arnold on November 7, 1964. Bart graduated from Enid High School in 1983. In 1987 he joined the U.S. Air Force where he served as a security police officer for ten years. Bart Arnold married Dawn Roever on January 5, 1993.  Dawn had a daughter, Brittany, whom Bart loved as his own.

Bart Arnold joined the North Enid Police Department in 2000. A year later Bart Arnold joined the Enid Police Department on October 22, 2001, and served as an officer with them for twenty years until his death at home from complications of the Covid virus on Monday, January 3, 2022, at the age of 57. Bart Arnold was also a member of the Enid Police Department’s Honor Guard.

Officer Bart Arnold was survived by his wife Dawn and stepdaughter Brittany Cooper.

Officer Bart Arnold’s earthly remains were cremated.

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Updated January 15, 2024

George Edward Arnold - Sheriff

Lincoln Country Sheriff's Office  August 22, 1917

At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 22, 1917, Sheriff Arnold, 50, observed Quillie McConnell, 22, and Noah Barnard, 17, near the Chandler City Park riding a bicycle just after they had burglarized a store in Chandler. The boys had earlier in the morning burglarized a store in Stroud then stole a car abducting the driver. The boys had released the driver then wrecked the stolen car. They then walked back to Stroud, stole a bicycle, and rode it into Chandler where they burglarized another store.

Sheriff George Arnold stopped the boys and grabbed Noah McConnell, who drew a .22 caliber pistol and shot Sheriff Arnold twice in the head. The boys then escaped out of town.

Sheriff George Arnold died later that afternoon.

A posse of three hundred men tracked the boys and captured them southeast of Meeker.

Quillie McConnell plead guilty and was sentenced to die in the Oklahoma electric chair on December 28, 1917. McConnell appealed his sentence and in January 1919 the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reduced his sentence to life in prison.

Noah Barnard was tried, found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

George Arnold is buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Chandler, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.

OLEM – 5N-5-12 (George D Arnold)  NLEOM – 38E23

Updated August 7, 2023

Robert Wesley "Bob" Arnold - Deputy Sheriff

Osage County Sheriff's Office  December 14, 1924

On Saturday, December 13, 1924, Deputy “Bob” Arnold had gone to the home of William A Bailey in Wildhorse, 12 miles southeast of Hominy, to serve an arrest warrant on Bailey’s son Bill, age 25.  William Bailey advised Deputy Arnold that his son Bill was not home. Deputy Arnold entered the house to look for the younger Bailey. When Deputy Arnold pulled back a curtain that divided a room, where Bill Bailey was hiding, Bill shot Deputy Arnold twice, in the groin and stomach.  

Deputy Robert Arnold, 48, died the next night, December 14th, in a Tulsa hospital, survived by his wife Pearl and three children.

Deputy Robert Arnold is buried in A. J. Powell Memorial Cemetery, Hominy, Osage County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

William "Bill" Arnold - Posse for Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service  March 17, 1898

In Claremore, on Thursday night, March 17, 1898, Deputy U. S. Marshal Hess Bussey and his posse William Arnold had just arrested Bill Johnson for being drunk and disorderly.  Posse William Arnold had just placed a handcuff on Bill Johnson’s right hand when Johnson drew a .44 caliber pistol with his free left hand and shot Posse William Arnold in the left cheek, killing him instantly. Deputy Marshal Hess Bussey then shot and killed Bill Johnson.

William Arnold was buried near his old homestead in Columbus, Cherokee County, Kansas. The exact site is unknown.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Martin Luther "Luke" Arterberry - Officer

Mangum Police Department  November 4, 1969

Officer Martin Arterberry, 32, was accidentally shot by his own duty weapon about 6 p.m. the evening of Tuesday, November 4, 1969, when it fell out of his holster while he was setting in a reclining chair in the Mangum police station. Officer Arterberry’s holster did not have a safety strap to hold the weapon in and the weapon, a Spanish made .38 caliber revolver, did not have any safety feature to prevent it from firing if the hammer received a sharp blow. The bullet went through the back of the chair striking Officer Arterberry in the side penetrating his liver and one lung.

Officer Martin Arterberry died within a few minutes and was survived by his wife Donna and two children, a son, and a daughter.

Martin Arterberry is buried in Roselawn Cemetery, Mangum, Greer County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Isaac Daniel “Ike” Ashburn – Patrolman

Oklahoma City Police Department  July 20, 1928

Patrolman Isaac Ashburn, 51, died early the morning of Friday, July 20, 1928, from injuries he had received about 10 p.m. the rainy night of Thursday, June 14 when he was struck by a car at Grand Avenue and Broadway, while walking back to police headquarters to go off duty.

This was the same intersection where Chief of Police John Melton Jones had been shot and killed 33 years earlier.

Officer Isaac Ashburn was survived by his wife Cynthia, eleven-year-old daughter Ellenore and nineteen-year-old son Frank.

Isaac Ashburn is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.

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Updated August 7, 2023

William  Henry Aston - Guard

Oklahoma State Penitentiary

Oklahoma Department of Corrections August 4, 1948

William H. Aston was born May 31, 1882, in Mississippi to Jonathon Alexander and Sarrah Isabell (Aston) Aston. Relocating to Oklahoma, William Aston was employed as a tower guard at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and later became a cellhouse guard.

On Friday, July 30, 1948, Guard William Aston was on duty at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on the fourth floor of the west cellblock that has the solitary confinement area.

Guard William Aston had gone to the solitary confinement cell of Thomas Woods, 22, as Woods had extended a mirror from his cell, to observe the whereabouts of the guard, which was against the prison rules. When Guard Aston opened the cell door, Thomas Woods jumped on him and started beating Guard William Aston’s head against the floor, wall, and cell bars.

Other guards rescued Aston and took him to the hospital where he was examined and, because he refused to be admitted, sent home.  William Aston’s condition worsened the next day and he was taken to a Holdenville hospital.  He was found to have a fractured skull and intracranial bleeding. Guard William Aston died in the Holdenville hospital at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 1948.  

William Aston was an ordained Methodist minister and a widower.  William and was survived by his adult daughter Mable Belle, 38, and adult son Ervin William, 36.

William Aston is buried in Ward Springs Cemetery, Ward Springs, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.

OLEM – 7N-4-11  NLEOM – 23E14

Updated August 4, 2023

Lee Atkins – Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service  Not Line of Duty

On Saturday, November 10, 1894, a festival of horse racing was being held in Checotah. About 7 p.m. that evening Deputy Marshal Lee Atkins, a Creek Indian was shot and killed by another Creek Indian named Amos McIntosh. Amos McIntosh was a former prosecuting attorney for Muskogee and Eufaula. It appears the shooting was the result of a personal fight between the two men. During an earlier altercation that day both men agreed to surrender their guns to John McKinney to prevent any trouble. Later Amos McIntosh got his gun back from John McKinney. Deputy Marshal Lee Atkins was unable to find McKinney to get his gun back. John McKinney had accidentally shot himself with Deputy Marshal Atkins’ gun while carrying it in his belt and was being treated for the flash wound. Amos McIntosh believed Deputy Marshal Atkins had not done as he had agreed when he said he would help Amos McIntosh get a political appointment. Amos McIntosh found the unarmed Deputy Marshal Lee Atkins and harsh words were exchanged and before McIntosh drew his gun and shot Atkins. Amos McIntosh left town on the next train to Eufaula.

Lee Atkins is buried in Indian Territory Checotah Cemetery, McIntosh County, Oklahoma.

On January 21, 1895, Amos McIntosh was arrested in Eufaula and taken to Fort Smith for killing Lee Atkins. In December 1895 Amos McIntosh was found not guilty at a second trial after the first trial ended in a hung jury.

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Updated August 7, 2023

Robert James "Jim" Atteberry - City Marshal

City of Kiowa  July 28, 1970

The morning of Tuesday, July 28, 1970, City Marshal Robert Atteberry, 48, had responded to the home of a 74-year-old mentally unbalanced man named Jack Cates because Cates had refused to go to the hospital for treatment with his son, Bill, and made threats against his son.  

Upon arrival at the residence City Marshal Robert Atteberry first went to the front door but soon started backing away and took cover behind his car, which he had parked in front of the house. As City Marshal Atteberry rose to look over the hood of his car, Jack Cates fatally shot him.

Jack Cates was then shot and killed by Pittsburg County Deputy Sheriff James “Bud” Garrison when Deputy Sheriff Garrison fired his 12-gauge shotgun through the window of the house after Jack Cates had fired at him twice.

Robert “Jim” Atteberry was survived by his wife Mona, daughters Gwendolyn and Linda and is buried in Wards Chapel Cemetery, Atoka County, Oklahoma.

OLEM – 1N-1-24 (Jim Arterberry)  NLEOM – 46E5

Updated August 7, 2023

Harry Harrison Aurandt - Officer

Tulsa Police Department  December 20, 1921

Harry Aurandt was born January 27, 1873, to William K. Aurandt and his wife in Martinsburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania. Harry Aurandt married Elizabeth “Bessie” Raugh in 1893. To this union a daughter, Susan, was born in July 1894, in Pennsylvania. Sometime after Susan’s birth Harry and Elizabeth divorced.  

Harry Aurandt would later marry Anna Christensen. To this marriage two children were born, a daughter, Francis in 1908 and a son, Paul, September 4, 1918. Paul was born in Tulsa, but it is not known exactly when Harry moved to Tulsa or when he joined the Tulsa Police Department.

In 1921 Officer Harry Aurandt, 47, was serving as Secretary to the Tulsa Police Commissioner as well as purchasing agent for the Tulsa Police and Fire Departments.  The evening of Sunday, December 18, 1921, Officer Harry Aurandt and Detective Ike Wilkinson had gone rabbit hunting in a rural area of Tulsa on Federal Road (now Admiral Place).

About 9 p.m. the two officers returned to their car when they were approached by four armed men who had gotten out of a Buick touring car with the intent of robbing the officers.  Detective Ike Wilkinson attempted to fire his shotgun at the men, but it misfired. The four men then started shooting at the two officers while they were setting in their car.  Officer Harry Aurandt, despite serious wounds in one lung, leg, and liver, drove a mile to a farmhouse where he collapsed. Detective Ike Wilkinson was crippled for life from leg wounds just above the knees.  Officer Harry Aurandt died from his wounds the afternoon of Tuesday, December 20, 1921.  

Harry Aurandt left behind his second wife Anna and three children, two daughters, Susan 27, Frances 12 and a 3-year-old son Paul.

Officer Harry Aurandt’s son, Paul Harvey Aurandt, grew up to be the well-known conservative radio commentator, author, and columnist Paul Harvey.

Officer Harry Aurandt is buried in Rose Hill Memorial Cemetery, Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma.

OLEM – 8S-2-11  NLEOM – 60W18

Updated August 7, 2023

Willard Rufus Ayers - Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service  August 11, 1880

Deputy Ayers, 33, had a warrant for Emanuel Patterson on a larceny charge. Late the night of Wednesday, August 11, 1880, Deputy Willard Ayers went to Emanuel Patterson’s house near Cherokeetown in the Chickasaw Nation to serve the arrest warrant. Deputy Ayers knocked on the door and entered the house telling Emanuel Patterson he was under arrest. Patterson asked Deputy Ayers if he could get some clothes on and Ayers agreed. Instead of getting dressed, Emanuel Patterson picked up a gun and shot Deputy Willard Ayers in the head killing him.

Willard Ayers was survived by his wife Mary who was pregnant with their first child and was buried in Cherokeetown but the exact location is unknown.

Emanuel Patterson was arrested six years later on Sunday, December 26, 1886, on other charges. Patterson admitted killing Deputy Ayers but stated Ayers had not identified himself as a deputy and he thought it was one of his enemies there to kill him. Emanuel Patterson was found guilty of Deputy Ayers’ murder at jury trial and was sentenced to be hung on April 28, 1888, by Judge Parker at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Emmanuel Patterson died in prison waiting on judgement on his appeals.

OLEM – 5N-1-9  NLEOM – 35W17

Updated August 7, 2023