Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial


John R. Tabner - Deputy Sheriff

Hughes County Sheriff’s Office


In 1908, John Tabner, 30, was serving as a night watchman in Wetumka but also carried a commission as a Hughes County Deputy Sheriff.  Deputy Sheriff John Tabner had worked all night the night of Saturday, November 14, 1908.


About noon, Sunday, November 15, 1908, brothers Ben and Jeff Smith who both had been drinking and causing trouble all over town. Jeff Smith met Monroe Reed in front of Fisk’s Barber Shop and continued with a dispute over a dog. The two men finally engaged in a fist fight. Ben Smith drew his gun which he waved around to keep bystanders back.  Being the only law enforcement officer in town at the time, Deputy Sheriff John Tabner, who was asleep at the Texas Hotel, was sent for.


When Deputy Sheriff John Tabner arrived on the scene, he drew his weapon and ordered Ben Smith toto drop his gun. Instead, Ben Smith fired several shots at Deputy Sheriff Tabner, one of which tore a portion of Deputy Sheriff Tabner’s shirt collar. Deputy Sheriff Tabner fired back, twice hitting Ben Smith point blank. Deputy Sheriff Tabner, then, finding his gun empty, ran across the street to Lumly’s Hardware store to secure more cartridges. Meanwhile, Jeff Smith got away from Monroe Reed jerking his brother Ben’s gun from a bystander who had picked it up. Jeff Smith went after Deputy Sheriff Tabner in Lumly’s Hardware store. Deputy Sheriff John Tabner’s gun would not fire as Jeff Smith entered the store and fired at him. Jeff Smith’s second shot struck Deputy Sheriff John Tabner in the left side. After Deputy Tabner fell to the floor, Jeff Smith clubbed him and kicked him and made Deputy Sheriff Tabner get up and crawl and walk as best he could to the barber shop where his brother, Ben, had been carried after being shot. Once there, someone present distracted Jeff Smith by telling him his brother wanted to speak to him before he died. Seeing an opportunity to escape, with almost superhuman effort, Deputy Sheriff John Tabner ran out of the barber shop and down the alley. Deputy Sheriff Tabner was able to make it through Hank’s restaurant and across the street to the Texas Hotel, reaching his upstairs room. Jeff Smith reached for Deputy Sheriff Tabner but failed to find him and was later arrested and taken to Holdenville. Ira Smith and Thomas Sipes were also arrested as accessories.


Deputy Sheriff John Tabner died from his wounds ten days later at 1 a.m. the morning of Wednesday, November 25, 1908, and is buried in the Wetumka Cemetery, Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 3S-2-4   NLEOM – 23E25


January 11, 2023





Harry T. Tate – Officer

Chickasha Police Department


The notes of O. K. Bivin’s who was gathering information on fallen officers for the new Oklahoma Peace Officer’s Memorial being built in the mid 1960’s indicates that this officer was killed in 1920 in Chickasha. There are no records of any officer by this name being killed then. This is possibly a duplication of the death of Chickasha Police Officer “Texas” Tate who died in 1930.


OLEM – 8S-2-19


January 11, 2023





Henry Austin “Texas” Tate - Police Officer

Chickasha Police Department


Henry Austin Tate was born April 27, 1889, to Isaac M. (Ike) and Sara Adeline (Giles) Tate in Seattle, King County, Washington.


On December 24, 1925, Henry Austin Tate married Ardie Holder King in Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma.


The afternoon of Tuesday, December 16, 1930, Officer Henry Tate and his partner, Officer Rex Bryant, went to the home of George B. Hale to serve a warrant for some stolen clothing. Upon entering the home, Officer Rex Bryant lifted a mattress and revealed a half gallon of whisky. Officer Henry Tate was standing in the door when he was knocked down from behind by a blow on the head with the stock of a shotgun by George Hale’s son, Clifford.  The younger Hale seized Officer Tate’s weapon, and before Officer Rex Bryant could react, fired three shots into Officer Henry Tate’s chest, heart, and abdomen. Officer Bryant then shot Clifford Hale through the chest causing him to drop the gun.  George Hale then attempted to pick up the fallen officer’s gun at which time Officer Rex Bryant shot him.  Abbie Hale, a daughter, then tried to retrieve the gun, but Officer Bryant made her desist. Officer Henry Tate died on the way to the hospital. Both George Hale and Clifford Hale recovered from their wounds and were charged with Officer Henry Tate’s murder.  


Officer Henry Tate was survived by his wife of five years, Ardie, and a stepson.


Henry Tate is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 7N-1-14    NLEOM – 60W17


December 15, 2022




Walter Tate - Deputy Sheriff

Love County Sheriff’s Office

 

About 10 o’clock the evening of Monday, September 17, 1917, Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate, 34, along with Scott Knight, Andy Rambo, and Luther Simmons, went to the home of Hugh Allison for the purpose of arresting Ben Canty on a bench warrant for obtaining money under false pretenses. Hugh Allison came to the door when Deputy Sheriff Tate knocked on it. Deputy Sheriff Tate asked Hugh Allison if Ben Canty was there. Hugh Allison stated he had been but didn’t know where he was then. Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate then told Hugh Allison to light a lamp and open the door. When the lamp was lit, Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate entered the house and saw Ben Canty crouched down behind a bed. Deputy Sheriff Tate told Ben Canty to get up and immediately Ben Canty fired his gun at Deputy Sheriff Tate. Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate returned fire hitting Ben Canty in the hands. Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate then walked out of the house and stated, “He shot me.”

Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate was taken to a hospital and died from his wounds the next day, September 18, 1917.


Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate was survived by his wife Maggie and five brothers and is buried in Oswalt Cemetery, Oswalt, Love County, Oklahoma.


Ben Canty was arrested and charged with the murder of Deputy Sheriff Walter Tate. Hugh Allison was also arrested as an accomplice.


OLEM – 1N-2-7    NLEOM – 47W23


January 11, 2023





Charles Taylor – Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service


Charles Taylor was one of the original names engraved on the Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial. He is listed as a Deputy U.S. Marshal with his year of death as 1897. There are no records of any Deputy U.S. Marshal by this name being killed then in what is today Oklahoma. The closest name is Deputy U.S. Marshal B. F. Taylor who was killed along with Deputy U.S. Marshal Joe Dodson on August 29, 1897, near Russellville in Pope County, Arkansas.


OLEM – 3S-1-9


January 11, 2023




Jarid Don Taylor - Deputy Sheriff

Bryan County Sheriff’s Office


Jarid D.Taylor was born July 28, 1988, in Liberty, Bryan County, Oklahoma.


Jarid Taylor was hired as a jailer for Bryan County in February 2018. Jarid Taylor worked his way through the ranks, graduated CLEET and served as the Silo Public Schools Resource Officer before switching over to be a Patrol Deputy Sheriff.


Just after 6 a.m. the morning of Tuesday, January 14, 2020, Deputy Sheriff Jarid Taylor, 31, was in route to an emergency call on Old Highway 70 near Lone Oak Road east of Durant when for unknown reason his patrol car left the highway and struck a tree. Deputy Sheriff Jarid Taylor died at the scene of the accident.


Deputy Sheriff Jarid Taylor was survived by his fiancé Miranda and his two children, Emma, 6, and Raylan, 5.


Jarid Taylor is buried in the Kemp Cemetery, Kemp, Bryan County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 4N-1-19     NLEOM – 30E32


January 14, 2023





Alonzo Jackson "Lon" Taylor - Deputy Sheriff

Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office

 

Alonzo Jackson “Lon” Taylor was born October 2, 1877, in Arkansas.


On May 7, 1910, “Lon” Taylor, 33, married Dessie Nix, 28, in Madill, Marshall County, Oklahoma.


Alonzo “Lon” Taylor, 57, had been a Deputy Sheriff in Choctaw County for about ten years having first served as a jailer before becoming a deputy in Boswell.  On the morning of Monday, January 14, 1935, a bank in Bokchito was robbed in neighboring Bryan County.  Officers called Boswell to advise Deputy Sheriff “Lon” Taylor of the robbery.  Deputy Sheriff Taylor was called to receive the phone call as he walked down the street.  As he stepped off the curb, his gun fell out of its holster and skidded several feet down the sidewalk. As Deputy Sheriff Taylor bent down to pick up his weapon, he accidentally kicked it off the curb. As his gun hit the street, it discharged striking Deputy Sheriff Taylor in the right thigh and ranging upward into his lower abdomen. Deputy Sheriff Alonzo “Lon” Taylor died several hours later in the hospital.


Deputy Sheriff Alonzo “Lon” Taylor was survived by his wife Dessie and a son.


Alonzo J. “Lon” Taylor is buried in Resthaven Cemetery, Boswell, Choctaw County, Oklahoma next to his wife Dessie who died in 1968.


OLEM – 7N-1-21    NLEOM –


January 14, 2023





Robert E. "Lee" Taylor - Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service


Deputy Marshal Robert Taylor, 23, was assigned to work the Osage Nation, now Osage County, Oklahoma.  On Thursday, October 1, 1891, Deputy Marshal Taylor had ridden to the store of William Rogers at Skiatook, a small town located one mile inside the Cherokee Nation of the Indian Territory, and about thirty miles northwest of Tulsa. Deputy Marshal Robert Taylor was at the store to interview Ben Haney about the location of a whiskey peddler for whom he had a warrant. Ben Haney’s sister, Nan, worked for William Rogers as a housekeeper in the house that adjoined the store. Ben Haney arrived at the store about noon and invited Deputy Marshal Taylor to have lunch with him at Rogers’ home where Haney’s sister Nan would cook for them.  

 

William Rogers entered the house while the others were still eating and evidently displeased at his surprise guests, walked out muttering about “feeding strays.” William Rogers had just returned from Coffeeville, KS, where he had been drunk for two days and had not recovered. After lunch, Deputy Marshal Robert Taylor, Ben Haney and Nan Haney left the house and walked into the front yard where they met William Rogers coming out of the store carrying a shotgun. William Rogers ordered Deputy Marshal Robert Taylor off his property and then raised the shotgun firing both barrels into Deputy Marshal Taylor’s chest. Deputy Marshal Robert Taylor dropped to the ground dead.  William Rogers then hitched a team of horses to a wagon and left the area headed north.

 

William Rogers, a half-blood Cherokee, was well known in the Indian Territory, having operated the general store and post office for fifteen years. He had also previously served as a senator in the Cherokee Nation government.


William Rogers was later arrested and tried twice for the murder of Deputy Marshal Robert Taylor. The first trial ended in a hung jury. William Rogers was acquitted in the second trial.


Robert Taylor was buried in the Osage Agency Cemetery in Pawhuska in what is now Osage County, Oklahoma. The cemetery no longer exists.


OLEM – 5N-3-10    NLEOM – 11E4


September 2, 2021




Thomas Jefferson Taylor Sr.- Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service

 

On Saturday, October 13, 1900, Deputy Marshal Thomas Taylor traveled to Ralston where he arrested Orrin DeLaus on a federal warrant for selling liquor to Indians. Deputy Marshal Taylor, before leaving Ralston, told several friends of DeLaus that the prisoner would be taken to Pawnee and arraigned, and that bond would probably be set. They agreed to come to Pawnee and post bond for their friend. Deputy Sheriff Lowry accompanied Deputy Marshal Taylor to Pawnee with Orrin DeLaus, where DeLaus was arraigned. Deputy Marshal Taylor thinking DeLaus’ friends would arrive soon, agreed to keep DeLaus with him until they arrived.

 

The men were in the back room of Cook Horton’s saloon finishing up paperwork, when John Horton walked into the room.  Both Deputy Sheriff Lowry and Deputy Marshal Taylor greeted the man who then exited through a back door. Deputy Sheriff Lowry then left Deputy Marshal Thomas Taylor and Orrin DeLaus in the back room alone.  Suddenly, Orrin DeLaus jumped up from his chair with a gun in his hand and shot Deputy Marshal Thomas Taylor who was just a few feet away. After being hit by two bullets, Deputy Marshal Taylor managed to draw his own gun and return fire, but missing DeLaus.

 

Deputy Marshal Taylor staggered into the saloon and collapsed. Doctors Lehew and Phillips attempted to stop the flow of blood, but Deputy Marshal Taylor died within twenty minutes. Other lawmen pursued DeLaus. They finally spotted him in a field east of Orrin Worral’s home and ordered him to stop. Orrin DeLaus was still holding the pistol that caused Deputy Marshal Taylor’s death.  DeLaus at first refused to drop the gun when ordered to do so by the officers. When the lawmen aimed their guns at DeLaus, threatening to kill him, he dropped the gun and surrendered. Orrin DeLaus was arrested, placed in jail, and on Monday morning at a preliminary examination he was held without bond to await trial for the murder of Deputy Marshal Thomas Taylor.  


Thomas Taylor was survived by his wife, Effie, their son and daughter, and a son and daughter from a previous marriage.


Deputy Thomas Taylor is buried in Grace Hill Cemetery, Perry, Noble County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 4S-1-16       NLEOM – 15E13


August 10, 2021




Homer Linville Teaff - Deputy Sheriff

Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office


Homer Teaff was born December 16, 1882, in Greene County, Missouri to Morgan Decatur and Narcissus Penelope (Linville) Teaff.

 

Homer Teaff married Grace Anna Wommack on August 3, 1912, in Dade County, Missouri.


Homer Teaff served as a police officer with the Muskogee Police Department before joining the Muskogee County Sheriff’s office.


On Tuesday, June 27, 1922, Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff and Deputy Sheriff W.O. Manley went to arrest John L. Welch on a charge of larceny sworn out by Frank L. Hendricks, a farmer, living near the scene of the tragedy. John Welch was picking cotton in a field down the road from the shack that he and his wife lived in a mile east of Brushy Mountain. Frank Hendricks, Deputy Sheriffs Homer Teaff and W. O. Manley went in the Welch’s shack and found the stolen items which Frank Hendricks identified. Frank Hendricks then went back to his home while Deputy Sheriffs Homer Teaff and W. O. Manley went to find John Welch.  


The two lawmen climbed the fence and approached John Welch who was leaning on his hoe. John Welch asked the Deputy Sheriffs, “What do you want?”  The Deputy Sheriffs replied, “We’ll tell you,” as they got closer to John Welch. Deputy Sheriff Manley told Deputy Sheriff Teaff to slip the handcuffs on John Welch. At first, Welch was calm but quickly shouted to his wife, standing about twenty-seven feet away, to “get that gun.” As Welch’s wife, Daisy, ran for the rifle, Deputy Sheriff Manley shouted for her to stop. She did not. Deputy Sheriff Manley fired at her hitting her in the shoulder. Daisy Welch spun around and fell but managed to get the rifle. Deputy Sheriff Manley then emptied his gun at her. Deputy Sheriff Manley turned to see Deputy Sheriff Teaff locking the handcuffs on John Welch and scuffling with him. John Welch was able to get Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff’s gun from his holster and fired two shots into Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff, killing him.  Deputy Sheriff Manley was able to hit John Welch twice over the head with his empty gun as John Welch fired two or three shots at Deputy Sheriff Manley, but the shots missed him. As Daisy Welch reached her husband with the rifle, Deputy Sheriff Manley retreated to the road and Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff’s car.  John Welch fired several more shots at Deputy Sheriff Manley before he and Daisy ran into the brush.  A posse was soon formed and began searching for the black fugitives on the slopes of Brushy Mountain. Bloodhounds were brought in from Fort Smith.


Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff was survived by his wife Grace, daughter Millicent Hope, 7, and son, Joe Aaron, 2, and is buried in Maple Park Cemetery, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri.


John Welch and his wife Daisy were later arrested, charged with the murder of Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff and brought to trial.  John Welch was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff.


OLEM – 9N-3-6    NLEOM – 41W24


January 14, 2023





William Clarence "Mug"  Temple - Chief

Anadarko Police Department


About 9:30 p.m. Saturday, November 12, 1910, a disturbance broke out at a “dive” in Anadarko over the winnings of a gambling game. A Mexican man ran from the dive being shot at by several men. Chief William Temple, 36, was in his yard when he heard the shots and observed the Mexican man running toward him being chased by several other men. When Chief Temple ordered the Mexican man to stop the man turned toward Chief Temple and shot him in the stomach. Chief Temple fired two shots at his assailant who kept running. Chief William Temple was able to give a description of the man before he died about fifteen minutes after being shot. The Mexican man was believed to be Oscar Opel but was never located.


Chief William Temple’s body was taken to his former home in Sterling, Kansas and buried in the Sterling Cemetery, Sterling, Rice County, Kansas.


Chief William Temple was survived by his wife Essie May, two daughters, Hazel, 10, Ruth, 8, and a young son.


OLEM – 9N-3-1   NLEOM – 17W29


November 12, 2022





Tennessee - Deputy City Marshal

City of Oktaha


Saturday evening, March 25, 1905, a dance was being held in the black section of Oktaha. “Tennessee” was a black deputy city marshal watching over the dance. Later in the evening several white men showed up drunk and were causing a disturbance. Deputy City Marshal “Tennessee” attempted to arrest one of the men, Walter Woods. Another of the white men,” Uncle” John B. Price, tried to interfere with the arrest of his friend then shot Deputy City Marshal “Tennessee”. John Price then escaped the area but was arrested in Oklahoma City a week later. Deputy City Marshal “Tennessee” died the next day, Sunday, March 26th.


The burial site of Deputy City Marshal Tennessee is unknown.


No other information has been found on “Tennessee” or his killer, John B. Price.

It is possible that Deputy Tennessee was actually a Deputy U.S. Marshal.


OLEM – 10S-1-16               NLEOM –


March 24, 2022




Justin Michael Terney – Patrolman

Tecumseh Police Department


Patrolman Justin Terney, 22, had only been an officer for just over a year when about 11:25 p.m. the night of Sunday, March 26, 2017, he made a traffic stop of a dark green 2003 Buick 4 door sedan west bound on Benson Park just east of Gordon Cooper in Tecumseh. The female driver gave her name as Brooke Williams. The male passenger gave the name as James Bishop. When Officer Terney ran checks on both persons no record could be found for James Bishop. Officer Terney got the male passenger out and was talking to him as they stood on the passenger side of the Buick. The man suddenly took off running south west in front of the Buick and into the wooded area.


Officer Justin Terney gave chase and deployed his taser. The man then fired several shots at Officer Terney striking him in the lower stomach below his bullet proof vest and in the right hip. Officer Terney had returned fire and had hit the male suspect several times. Officer Terney and the suspect were both transported to OU Medical Trauma Center in Oklahoma City. Officer Justin Terney died from his wounds the next morning, Monday, March 27th at 8:40 a.m.


The suspect was identified as Byron James Shepard, 35, was wanted on a felony warrant out of Okfuskee County. James Shepard survived his wounds and was charged with First Degree Murder, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.


The female driver Brooke Williams was charged with harboring a fugitive and First-Degree Murder. She was tried, found guilty and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.


Officer Justin Terney was survived by his parents, three sisters and a brother and is buried in Bower Cemetery, Longtown, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 10N-2-15     NLEOM – 5W31


March 27, 2021





Oscar Marcellus Terry - Deputy Sheriff

Creek County Sheriff's Office


On Friday morning February 7, 1913, about 10 a.m. 34-year-old Deputy Sheriff Oscar Terry was in the outhouse of the Tracey livery barn in Bristow when his .38 caliber revolver fell from its holster and discharged as it struck the floor. The bullet pierced Deputy Sheriff Terry’s leg then struck him just under the nose, ranged inward and lodged somewhere at the base of his brain. After initial treatment by a local doctor in Bristow, Deputy Oscar Terry was taken to University Hospital in Oklahoma City where he died the next afternoon, February 8, 1913. X-rays showed that the bullet had damaged his brain and was inoperable.


Deputy Sheriff Oscar Terry was survived by his wife Rosanna Gertrude, 33, and five of their seven children, Earnest Preble, 12, Bessie Hattie, 8, Lacey James, 6, Robert Lee, 5, and Leila B, 2.


Oscar Terry is buried in the Bristow Cemetery, Bristow, Creek County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 9N-2-1    NLEOM – 27W27


February 8, 2022





Richard “Dick” Terry – Posse, Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service


Richard “Dick” Terry was a Cherokee Indian and a Deputy U.S. Marshal stationed in Vinita, Indian Territory. Richard Terry was an active, much respected deputy marshal. Initial newspaper reports of the shooting incident involving the murder of Deputy U.S. Marshal Isaac L. “Ike” Gilstrap by the Wickliffe outlaw gang on March 12, 1906, also listed Gilstrap’s posses as Odis Tittle and Dick “Slick” Carey, as being killed. Later newspaper reports corrected the information to Dick Terry as the wounded posse and Odis Tittle as not wounded. It appears that the name Dick Terry was engraved on the Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial when it was built in May of 1969 due to these original newspaper reports.


Following his service as a Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Terry opened a pool and billiards parlor in Kansas, a small town in Oklahoma twenty-five miles northeast of Tahlequah, where the capitol of the Cherokee Nation was located. The furnishings of the pool hall was mortgaged through the local bank in Kansas and, when Richard Terry was unable to make the payments, the furniture was foreclosed on by the bank. The foreclosing officer was Cash L. Pratt, head cashier of the bank. The foreclosure became a point of conflict between the two men, allegedly with harsh words and threats passing between them.


The area in the rear of the Cherokee Nation’s capital building in Tahlequah was covered with rows of booths of vendors of all types, one of which was a branch of the bank of Kansas. Shortly after 6 a.m. the morning of Thursday, June 30, 1910, former Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Terry walked into the rea, walking down the aisles between the booths wishing a good morning to the few vendors present. As Richard Terry approached the booth of the bank of Kansas, C. L. Pratt stepped out of the booth and fired five shots at Richard Terry with a .38 caliber revolver. Witnesses stated that the shooting was done without warning, no words were passed between the men and that Richard Terry was unarmed. Three of the bullets took effect, one directly above Terry’s heart and two more bullets in his left breast. Richard Terry died from his wounds and C. L. Pratt was charged with murder.


The name “Dick Terry” was engraved on the Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial under the years 1908 to 1917 when the memorial was built in 1969, probably because of the false report of his death on March 12, 1906, but either way Terry was not a law enforcement officer when he died.


OLEM – 8S-1-2 (Dick Terry)


August 15, 2022




Lori Dean Thomas - Agent

Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission


Lori Dean Thomas was born November 16, 1957, at Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas to Eldon Boyd and Mary Jane (Simmons) Thomas.

 

Agent Lori Thomas was a nine-year veteran of the Oklahoma ABLE Commission.


On the evening of Sunday, October 23, 1994, about 9 p.m. Agent Lori Thomas, 36, was on her way home from work in Durant.  About the same time, Durant police officers were pursuing Michael Wayne Holland at approximately eighty miles per hour when Michael Holland entered the intersection of State Highway 78 and Rodeo Road striking Agent Lori Thomas’ state vehicle. Even though her seat belt was in use and the air bag deployed in the collision, ABLE agent Lori Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene.  


Michael Holland suffered a neck fracture but was released a few days later from the hospital. Michael Holland later failed to show up for a preliminary hearing and a warrant was issued for his arrest.  The next week Michael Holland surrendered to Bryan County authorities. Michael Holland was charged with vehicular first-degree manslaughter and bond was set at $30,000.  


Agent Lori Thomas was survived by her 15-year-old son Cory and is buried in Highland Cemetery, Durant, Bryan County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 2N-3-8    NLEOM – 43E19


January 14, 2023




Otto Thomas - Patrolman

Clinton Police Department


IIn the summer of 1953, the city of Clinton only had one black police officer, Otto Thomas, who had been on the force about four years.


On Friday, June 26, 1953, about 4:15 p.m. Officer Otto Thomas, 47, went to the Bell’s Tavern in the “colored” Lincoln District of Clinton. Inside the bar, Officer Otto Thomas arrested Robert Lister, Jr., his wife and a companion, Bertram Stevenson for a burglary Officer Thomas was investigating. As Officer Thomas escorted the three outside of the bar, Robert Lister’s father, Robert, Sr., 51, shot Officer Otto Thomas four times in the chest.  The senior Robert Lister then drove away from the scene but was arrested about two hours later by Clinton Police and Caddo County deputies.  Offering no resistance, Robert Lister, Sr. pulled his car over and stuck his arms out of the window. The murder weapon, a .32 caliber foreign made automatic pistol, was lying on the seat beside Robert Lister, Sr. when he was arrested.  


Officer Otto Thomas died from his gunshot wounds before reaching the hospital. Otto Thomas was the first law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty in Custer County since 1941.


Officer Otto Thomas was survived by his wife Bertha and is buried in Summit View Cemetery, Guthrie, Logan County, Oklahoma.


In September 1953 Robert Lester, Sr. was tried and convicted of the murder of officer Otto Thomas and was sentenced to life in prison.


OLEM – 1N-3-11    NLEOM – 13W20


June 28, 2022



Fred Thompson – Officer

Midwest City Police Department


Fred Thompson was born December 29, 1899, at Barney, Faulkner County, Arkansas to George David and Mollie L. (Wilson) Thompson. On June 16, 1918, eighteen-year-old Fred Thompson married sixteen-year-old Addie Evelyn “Eva” Dorsey at Konawa, Seminole County, Oklahoma. Fred and Eva had three children, Hoyt Wilford, born May 20, 1924, Lavern Melva Jean, born May 24, 1926, and Glenna born in 1940. Fred and Eva raised their family in Konawa, Oklahoma until 1951 when they moved to Midwest City, Oklahoma. Fred had severed as the Nightwatchman (police officer) for Konawa for some time before they moved.


Fred Thompson joined the Midwest City Police Department on July 8, 1951, and was assigned as the downtown beat officer. Fred walked the downtown beat for thirteen years and knew everybody and every store owner.


One duty of Midwest City Police Officers in the 1950’s and 1960’s was to drive the school buses for the Mid-Del School District in uniform. On Friday, October 4, 1963, beat officer Fred Thompson worked his normal day shift walking the downtown beat. That Friday evening Fred Thompson was assigned to drive the Mid-Del School bus that would transport the Midwest City High School “Bombers” football team to Douglass High School near NE 10th and S. Eastern (now M. L. King Avenue) in Oklahoma City for that nights’ rivalry game against the Douglass High School “Trojans”. During the football game ten fights broke out during which one person was stabbed and ten to fifteen people were arrested. Officer Fred Thompson, one of eight Midwest City police officers at the game along with several Oklahoma City Police Officers for security, intervened in several of the fights.


The next day, Saturday, October 5, 1963, Officer Fred Thompson walked his downtown Midwest City beat as usual. During the day Officer Thompson began to feel ill and that afternoon called his wife, Eva, to come pick him up early. Soon after arriving home Officer Thompson suffered a heart attack and passed out at home. Officer Thompson was transported by an ambulance to Mercy Hospital in downtown Oklahoma City for treatment and died there the next day, Sunday, October 6, 1963.


Officer Fred Thompson was survived by his wife Eva and their three adult children, Hoyt, 39, Lavern, 37, and her husband Hurshel Thomas, and Glenna, 23, and her husband Douglas Herren and their families.


Fred Thompson is buried in Konawa Memorial Cemetery, Konawa, Seminole County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 12S-2-2                 NLEOM –


March 12, 2023





James Harvey “Jim” “Bud” Thompson – Night Watchman

City of Eldorado May 20, 1921


James H. Thompson was born August 30, 1865, in Merced County, California to William “Bull” Thompson and Mary Ann Chamberlain. James married Clara Leona Currie in 1898.

 

James Thompson was the night watchman for the town of Eldorado early Friday morning, May 20, 1921. At about 1:30 a.m. night watchman Thompson, 55, was making his rounds of the business district of Eldorado when a man approached him and after a short conversation the man shot Thompson twice in the heart killing him instantly and the man then ran off.


On Saturday, county officers at Hollis arrested a young man, Jess Haines, and questioned him about being involved in the murder of Watchman Thompson. After some time, the deputies released Jess Haines, as they concluded he was not involved in the murder. Later that Saturday Jess Haines was arrested four miles outside of Altus carrying a gun with two of the chambers empty. Soon afterwards Jess Haines confessed that he and a buddy called “Shorty” had planned to hold up the nightwatchman, take his gun, and force him into a boxcar they had located and lock him in the box car so they could burglarize the jewelry store. Jess Haines stated that when he approached Nightwatchman Thompson on the street that Thompson had his hand on his gun in his hip pocket. Haines had his hand on his gun, a 38-40 Colt revolver on a 45 frame, in his right front trouser pocket. When the men were in about eight feet of each other Haynes asked Thompson where he might find a room to stay for the night. When Watchman Thompson took his hand off his gun to pointed in the direction of some rooms Haines drew his gun, pointed it at Thompson and told him to “stick them up”. Instead, Nightwatchman James Thompson went to draw his gun and Jess Haines shot him twice.


Nightwatchman James H. Thompson, was survived by his five children, Clara L., Edith A., Grace A., Ruby C., and Paul W.


James Thompson’s wife Clara had died six years earlier.


James H. Thompson is buried next to his wife in Eldorado Cemetery, Eldorado, Jackson County, Oklahoma.


In early June 1921 Jess Haines was tried for the murder of Night Watchman James Thompson. Jess Haines was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.


OLEM – 10S-2-19  NLEOM –


Updated March 10, 2024




Rex James Thompson - Corrections Officer

Oklahoma Department of Corrections


Rex James Thompson was born December 27, 1940, in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma to Leroy E. and Mildred Thompson.


Rex Thompson began his career with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections when he was hired at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center on may10, 1978. He soon rose to the rank of Sergeant.


On August 31, 1981, Michael Sullinger, 21, was serving a two-year sentence on a conviction of assault and battery with intent to kill at the Lexington Correctional Center. He had served eight months at the time. After an earlier confrontation between inmates, a general lockdown was in progress at the Correctional Center.


At approximately 7:00 p.m. that evening Michael Sullinger approached Sergeant Rex Thompson. It looked as though he asked Officer Thompson a question as Thompson raised his hand and shook his head as if to say I don’t know. Then Michael Sullinger twisted a little to the side and then hit Sergeant Rex Thompson on the left jaw.  Sergeant Thompson made about a quarter turn then landed on the sidewalk, not even trying to catch himself.  David W. Goodson, a Lexington prison guard stated Sergeant Rex Thompson fell backwards hitting his head on a one-inch steel frame that separates the control center’s glass windows. Also, according to Goodson, Michael Sullinger started jumping up and down like a boxer. Other prison guards ran to the area and wrestled Michael Sullinger to the ground and placed him in restraints.


Sergeant Rex Thompson, 40, was taken to Purcell Hospital and later transferred to St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City where he died from his injuries at 6:20 a.m. the next morning, September 1, 1981.


Sergeant Rex Thompson was survived by his wife Carol Sue and two children and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma.


Michael Sullinger was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Officer Rex Thompson.  


OLEM – 2N-1-20    NLEOM – 60E5


January 14, 2023




George Edwin Thornton - Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service

 

George Thornton was born 1858 in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois to William and Elizabeth Thornton, one of their seven children.


On Wednesday, October 28, 1891, Deputy Marshal George Thornton, known as one of the most fearless officers who ever served the government, traveled into the Sac and Fox Nation in search of Captain Willy, a wanted Creek/Negro. Captain Willy was wanted for horse theft, selling illegal whiskey and the murder of another deputy marshal. After stopping at his uncle’s house for a short visit, Deputy Marshal George Thornton rode to the Sac and Fox Agency where he met his posse, Fred Williams.  The two officers then traveled to the home of Captain Willy. An Indian woman answered the door and allowed the officers to search for Willy after telling them he was not there.  


The two officers then rode to a nearby cabin believing Captain Willy might be there. As they approached the cabin they were met with a hail of gunfire. Deputy Marshal George Thornton and Posse Fred Williams dismounted their horses about sixty yards from the cabin. After firing five or six shots from his rifle, Deputy Marshal Thornton slumped forward but was able to regain his posture and fire twice more.  Deputy Marshal George Thornton then fell to the ground. Posse Fred Williams continued firing toward the cabin until the firing ceased from behind the corncribs. Posse Fred Williams then went to check on Deputy Marshal Thornton, finding him dead, shot in the side. The bullet had traveled entirely through his body.


Posse Fred Williams stayed at the scene throughout the night. The next morning, he searched the cabin, now abandoned, and found blankets to wrap Deputy Marshal Thornton’s body in. Being sure the killers had left the area; Posse Fred Williams borrowed a wagon and took Deputy Marshal George Thornton’s body to the Sac and Fox Agency and then on to Guthrie. Thornton’s body was then transported to Oklahoma City arriving on Saturday, October 31. Deputy Marshal George Thornton was later buried in Peoria, Illinois, where he was born in 1858. George Thornton is buried in Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum, Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois. Deputy Marshal George Thornton was single at the time of his death.


Deputy U.S. Marshal Rufus Cannon and three posse captured Captain Willy in October 1892.  Captain Willy was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of Deputy Marshal George Thornton and was waiting to be sentenced when he became ill. Captain Willie died in the jail hospital from internal bleeding. Some of the reports claim he died from complications of a wound he received in the earlier gun battle with Deputy Marshal George Thornton.


OLEM – 5N-2-9    NLEOM – 13E13


January 14, 2023




Edward Ellis “Ed” Thurlo – Deputy U.S. Marshal / City Marshal

U. S. Marshal  Service / City of Duncan


Edward Thurlo was born in 1862 in Livingston, Missouri to David and Araminta B. (Mullins) Thurlo. By the 1880’s Edward Thurlo had moved into the Indian Territory, settling in Duncan, in the southern part of the Chickasaw Nation. In 1868 Edward Thurlo married a woman named Purden and they had a son named Clyde, born in 1890. Edward Thurlo’s first wife died shortly after their son’s birth. In 1893 Edward Thurlo married Geneva Hine and they had a daughter named Ida Pearl born in 1894.


Edward Thurlo was a Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Indian Territory in 1896. Edward Thurlo was also the City Marshal of Duncan.


On Thursday, February 6, 1896, Deputy Marshal Thurlo, 33, saw Dave Putty (also spelled Petty) loading a wagon with what appeared to be illegal whiskey. Deputy Marshal Thurlo, thinking the whiskey might be sold to the Indians, watched Dave Putty and after a while approached him telling him he was going to check the load. At first Dave Putty said nothing. Then Putty drew his gun and opened fire on Deputy Marshal Edward Thurlo, killing him.  Dave Putty then escaped. After being notified of the killing, all deputies in the southern district began a manhunt for Dave Putty. When found, Dave Putty resisted arrest and gun shots were exchanged. Dave Putty was hit in the shoulder and captured. Putty was then transported to Dallas then later to Paris, Texas to await trial.


Deputy Marshal Edward Thurlo was survived by his wife Geneva, son Clyde, 6, and daughter Ida Pearl, 2. Edward Thurlo’s wife, Geneva, was pregnant with their second daughter, Eddie, at the time of his death. Eddie was born four months after her father’s death.


Edward Thurlo’s burial site is unknown.


OLEM – 5N-3-17   NLEOM – 13E12


January 14, 2023




William Matthew “Bill” Tilghman - City Marshal
Cromwell  
    


William M. “Bill” Tilghman is probably the most famous lawman to ever serve in what is today the state of Oklahoma.

William “Bill” Tilghman was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on July 4, 1854. His parents moved to Kansas when he was a child. In his early twenties he was in Dodge City, Kansas, where he served as a Deputy Sheriff for Ford County and City Marshal of Dodge City along with Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. Later “Bill” Tilghman would move to Oklahoma Territory and become a Deputy U. S. Marshal. Over the next decade, “Bill” Tilghman and his close friends and fellow Deputy U. S. Marshals Chris Madsen and Heck Thomas would become known as “The Three Guardsmen” of Oklahoma Territory.

William “Bill” Tilghman would serve as Sheriff of Lincoln County and as Chief of Police of Oklahoma City leaving that position in 1913.

“Bill” Tilghman had served as a law enforcement officer in different capacities for almost fifty years when in the spring of 1924, at the age of seventy, he became the City Marshal of the lawless oil boom town of Cromwell, in Seminole County.


About 10 o’clock on Saturday night, November first of that year City Marshal “Bill” Tilghman was having coffee with one of his deputies, Hugh Sawyer, and businessman, W. E. Sirmans at Marie Murphy’s dance hall and cafe. A gun shot was heard from outside and the three men walked outside to investigate. Just outside the dance hall in the street stood Federal Prohibition Agent, Wiley Lynn, drunk and holding a gun in his hand.


City Marshal “Bill” Tilghman grabbed Wiley Lynn’s gun hand, raised it in the air and told his deputy Hugh Sawyer to take Wiley Lynn’s gun. As Deputy Sawyer took the gun from Wiley Lynn’s hand two more shots were fired and City Marshal “Bill” Tilghman fell. Apparently Wiley Lynn had drawn a second concealed gun with his free hand and shot City Marshal “Bill” Tilghman point blank. “Bill” Tilghman died twenty minutes later. “Bill” Tilghman’s body lay in state in the State Capitol Building’s rotunda for two days. As well as being only the third person to be accorded that honor, he was also the first private citizen and the first law enforcement officer to do so.


William “Bill” Tilghman was survived by his wife Zoe, two daughters and four sons and is buried in Oak Park Cemetery, Chandler, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.


Wiley Lynn was arrested and charged with “Bill” Tilghman’s murder. The first trial ended in a mistrial. Even though there were witnesses to the shooting most did not show up for the second trial and Wiley Lynn was acquitted.

Wiley Lynn was killed eight years later Sunday, July 17, 1932, as Lynn attempted to assassinate another lawman, State Crime Bureau Agent Crockett Long, in a drug store in Madill. Both Wiley Lynn  and State Crime Bureau Agent Crockett Long died in the gun battle.  


“The Three Guardsmen” were three of the first people inducted into the newly formed Oklahoma Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in December 2009.


OLEM – 8S-2-4    NLEOM – 7W22


March 8, 2021




James Daniel “Dan” Tittle Agent - Deputy Sheriff

Federal Prohibition Enforcement

Bureau of Internal Revenue /Craig County Sheriff’s Office


The evening of Friday, September 22, 1922, Agent Dan Tittle and a black man named John Henry Ledman had gone to an area just south of the Big Cabin Creek Bridge on the Jefferson Highway, one mile south of Vinita, to meet some men who were to deliver five gallons of corn whiskey to Ledman. Agent Tittle and Ledman positioned themselves in a curve of the road.


 When a wagon came into the curve Agent James Tittle and John Henry Ledman stopped it and ordered the two men to get their hands up. One of the men, Charles Baker, raised his hands. The other man, Alves Casey drew a gun and was instantly shot in the abdomen by Agent James Tittle. Agent Tittle then took Alves Casey’s gun and threw it in the grass. Alves Casey was then able to get Agent Tittle’s gun away from him and shot Agent Tittle twice, killing him. John Henry Ledman had run off into the bushes and Alves Casey and Charles Baker drove to the hospital in Vinita where they were later arrested. Alves Casey already had a federal liquor charge against him and was to go to court the next March. Alves Casey died of his wounds Sunday night the 24th.


Charles Baker was charged with Agent James Tittle’s murder.


Agent James Tittle was survived by his second wife and their three young children and two adult sons from his first marriage. Agent Tittle’s first wife Maud died sometime before 1910.

James Tittle is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma.


OLEM –   10N-2-17                          NLEOM –


September 22, 2021





Otis Tittle – Posse, Deputy U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshal Service


Otis Tittle, a resident of Vinita, Indian Territory, was described as “a young man not thirty years of age…a fine horseman and a sure shot.” On March 12, 1906, Deputy U.S. Marshal Ike Gilstrap deputized some men to assist him in arresting the Wickliff gang. Otis Tittle was one of the men deputized as a posse that day. Otis Tittle’s bloodhounds were used to track down the Wickliff gang members. During the resulting gun battle Deputy U.S. Marshal Ike Gilstrap was shot and killed. Another member of the posse, Dick Terry, who was once a Deputy U.S. Marshal himself, was wounded but would survive only to be killed in another incident sometime later.


Initial newspaper reports of the shooting incident involving the murder of Deputy U.S. Marshal Isaac L. “Ike” Gilstrap by the Wickliffe outlaw gang on March 12, 1906, also listed Gilstrap’s posses as Odis Tittle and Dick “Slick” Carey, as being killed. Later newspaper reports corrected the information to Dick Terry as the wounded posse and Odis Tittle as not wounded. It appears that the name Otis Tittle was engraved on the Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial when it was built in May of 1969 due to these original newspaper reports of his death.


There is no evidence that Otis Tittle was ever a commissioned law enforcement officer after the shootout with the Wickliff gang on March 12, 1906.


OLEM – 5N-4-4


August 15, 2022





Delmar Warren Tooman - Police Officer

Oklahoma City Police Department


Delmar Tooman, 27, had been with the Oklahoma City Police Department just over three years when on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 1990, at about 10 p.m. he responded to a silent armed robbery alarm at Long John Silver’s restaurant on South Meridian south of Interstate 40. Officer Tooman entered the front door and, as he walked behind the service counter, a suspect ran out from the kitchen area and shot the officer twice at point blank range, striking him in the chest and left temple killing him instantly. As the suspect ran out of the back door, he was wounded by another officer behind the building. Carl Elizabeth Whelan was arrested and charged with the murder of Officer Delmar Tooman.


Delmar Tooman was single and is buried in Memory Lane Cemetery, Anadarko, Caddo County, Oklahoma.


Carl Whelan committed suicide in the Oklahoma County Jail before ever going to trial.


OLEM – 2N-2-27    NLEOM – 55W11


Sept 25, 2021




Clarence Ivy Trammell - Deputy Sheriff

Roger Mills County Sheriff’s Office


Clarence Ivy Trammell was born August 12, 1897, to Robert E. Lee and Myra (Snow) Trammell at Burt, in the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory.


On Saturday, February 17, 1923, at about 6 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Clarence Trammell, 25, met a man named Fate Dodson in front of the building where the Cheyenne Star newspaper was published in Cheyenne. During an exchange of harsh words, both men drew their guns and fired.  Fate Dodson was wounded in the hip. Deputy Sheriff Clarence Trammell was fatally wounded in the abdomen and chest.  Sheriff J.M. Lester arrested Fate Dodson and took him to Sayre to keep him from being lynched.


Fate Dodson was later convicted and sent to the state penitentiary at McAlester where he was later paroled.


Deputy Sheriff Clarence Trammell had been the Undersheriff for the previous sheriff.

 

Clarence Trammell was survived by his wife Donnie and is buried in Cheyenne Cemetery, Cheyenne, Rogers County, Oklahoma next to his still born twin sons who died the year before their father.


OLEM – 8S-2-24   NLEOM –


January 16, 2023





William Franklin Treadway - Patrolman

Perry Police Department


William F. Treadway was born at Neosho, Missouri February 29, 1884, to James A. Treadway and his wife. When the Cherokee Strip in Indian Territory opened to settlement William and his parents filed a claim on a farm site one mile west of Perry. William Treadway lived with his parents on their farm until 1918. After being in the trucking business for some time William moved to California for a year before returning to Perry. William joined the Perry Police Department upon his return from California.


William had been a Perry Police Officer for two years when on Friday, February 21, 1930, Patrolman William Treadway, 46, and two county officers discovered that the Arcade and Union pool halls had been burglarized. Patrolman William Treadway began checking other businesses including the Nelson Drug Store.  Patrolman Treadway discovered that the burglar was apparently still inside the drug store. Patrolman William Treadway then fired one shot into the air to summon the two county officers. As the county officers went to surround the drug store, they heard numerous gun shots fired. Going to the rear of the drug store, they found Patrolman William Treadway shot and lying just outside of the glass rear door and the burglar gone. Patrolman William Treadway was rushed to the hospital shortly after the shooting.


A kit of safe breaking tools was left behind by the thief. A fingerprint expert from Oklahoma City was unable to find any prints, leading officers to believe that the man was an experienced safe-cracker and wore gloves.  


Patrolman William Treadway died about 6:20 a.m. Saturday, February 22nd from a gunshot wound through his neck and the bullet puncturing his spinal cord.

 

Patrolman William Treadway was survived by his wife Clara and their five children.

Three of the children were still living at home, Vera, 18, Frank, 12, and Jimmy, 9. Their two older daughters were married and living in California.


William F. Treadway is buried in Grace Hill Cemetery, Perry, Noble County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 1N-1-1    NLEOM – 46E6


February 22, 2022




Allen Pleasant. Trentham - Officer

Hobart Police Department


About 8 o’clock in the evening on Sunday, July 27, 1930, Officer Allen Trentham, 49, was called to Freetown, the “colored section” of Hobart, to arrest Fred Wallace.  Fred Wallace had been drinking and was reportedly waving a rifle around and threatening his entire family.


When Officer Allen Trentham drove up Fred Wallace was surrounded by other people. Officer Trentham did not know that Fred Wallace had told the crowd he would kill anyone who approached him.  When Officer Trentham approached him, Fred Wallace fired the rifle once in the ground before raising the rifle and shooting Officer Trentham in the arm before he fled the scene.  Officer Allen Trentham died from loss of blood about 3 a.m. the next morning, Monday, July 28th.


Allen Trentham was survived by his wife Rosa, their five sons, Atwood, 17, Jim, 15, Allen, 9, Eugene Harold, 7, Bobby, 5, and their three daughters Francis, 13, Rosalee, 4, Betty, 2.


Allen Trentham is buried next to his wife Rosa in Hobart Rose Cemetery, Hobart, Kiowa County, Oklahoma.

           

Fred Wallace and charged with the murder of Officer Allen Trentham. Wallace was later arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.


OLEM – 1N-1-2   NLEOM – 7W30


Officer Trentham’s name was added to the Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial in a rather unique manner. On July 2, 1969, his daughter read a newspaper article about the memorial and noticed that her father’s name was not on it. She notified a supervisor with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) in Oklahoma City, and he notified Mr. O.K. Bivins of the omission. The OHP supervisor was Lt. Cell Howell who would have his own name added to the memorial less than eight years later.


August 8, 2022




Charles “Floyd” Trivitt - Deputy Sheriff

Hughes County Sheriff’s Office


About 8 o’clock in the evening on Sunday, July 27, 1930, Officer Allen Trentham, 49, was called to Freetown, the “colored section” of Hobart, to arrest Fred Wallace.  Fred Wallace had been drinking and was reportedly waving a rifle around and threatening his entire family.


When Officer Allen Trentham drove up Fred Wallace was surrounded by other people. Officer Trentham did not know that Fred Wallace had told the crowd he would kill anyone who approached him.  When Officer Trentham approached him, Fred Wallace fired the rifle once in the ground before raising the rifle and shooting Officer Trentham in the arm before he fled the scene.  Officer Allen Trentham died from loss of blood about 3 a.m. the next morning, Monday, July 28th.


Allen Trentham was survived by his wife Rosa, their five sons, Atwood, 17, Jim, 15, Allen, 9, Eugene Harold, 7, Bobby, 5, and their three daughters Francis, 13, Rosalee, 4, Betty, 2.


Allen Trentham is buried next to his wife Rosa in Hobart Rose Cemetery, Hobart, Kiowa County, Oklahoma.

           

Fred Wallace and charged with the murder of Officer Allen Trentham. Wallace was later arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.


OLEM – 1N-1-2   NLEOM – 7W30


Officer Trentham’s name was added to the Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial in a rather unique manner. On July 2, 1969, his daughter read a newspaper article about the memorial and noticed that her father’s name was not on it. She notified a supervisor with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) in Oklahoma City, and he notified Mr. O.K. Bivins of the omission. The OHP supervisor was Lt. Cell Howell who would have his own name added to the memorial less than eight years later.


August 8, 2022




John  Lee Trout, Sr.- Sergeant

Bernice Police Department


John  L. Trout, Sr. was born on January 3, 1955, in Afton, Oklahoma to Geral and Cleta (Walker) Trout.


John Trout, Sr. spent most of his adult life as a law enforcement officer. John Trout was a former Chief of Police for the Spavinaw and the Strang Police Departments. John also served as a Deputy Sheriff for the Mayes County Sheriff’s Office for several years. John Trout had been with the Bernice Police Department for four and a half years and was serving as a Sergeant at the time there of his death.

 

The first part of August 2021, Sergeant John Trout, Sr., 66, contracted the Covid-19 virus during the course of his duties with the Bernice Police Department. Sergeant John Trout, Sr. was hospitalized in Tahlequah and died from complications of the virus on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.


Sergeant John Trout, Sr. was survived by his four adult children, daughters Chele and husband Tracy Davidson, Misty and husband Sam Trevino, sons John, Jr. and wife Nikki and Jerry and wife Melissa, as well as thirteen grandchildren and five great grandchildren. John’s son Jerry is a Captain with the Bernice Police Department.


John Trout, Sr. is buried in the Spavinaw-Strang Cemetery, Spavinaw, Mayes County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 10N-1-19   NLEOM – 51E32


April 26, 2022




Ed Tummlison, – City Marshal

Keokuk Falls


The notes of O. K. Bivins, who gathered the initial information for fallen officers’ names to be added to the new Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial dedicated on May 15, 1969, indicate that Ed Tummlison was the City Marshal of Keokuk Falls and was killed in 1913.There is no record of any such event.


It is possible that this is a confusion of facts with the 1904 death of Keokuk Falls City Marshal Jim Sweatte in a gunfight with Ed Thomlinson during a dispute concerning an alleged affair with City Marshal Jim Sweatte’s daughter. Ed Thomlinson was later acquitted of the murder charge as City Marshal Sweatte had drawn his gun first.


OLEM – 3S-2-7


January 16, 2023




Brian Jeffrey Tunnell - Patrolman

Miami Police Department


On Sunday, June 5, 1988, about 7 p.m., Lieutenant Gary Anderson was searching for Russell Wayne Haines to arrest him on a warrant out of Texas.  The warrant was for violation of his probation on a charge of assault on a police officer in Daisetta, Texas.  Haines girlfriend, who he had beaten the previous day, told the police he was wanted. Lieutenant Anderson was able to locate Russell Haines at the Elms Motel on North Main Street. Lieutenant Anderson and the motel owner, Oba Edwards, went to Haines’ room and confronted him.  Lieutenant Anderson ordered Haines to place his hands behind his back.  At first Haines started to do as Lieutenant Anderson ordered, but then hesitated, saying, “No, I ain’t going to. You’re going to have to shoot me.”  Russell Haines struck Lieutenant Anderson with a double-burner iron gate from a cook stove and a struggle ensued which quickly moved into the parking lot.


Motel owner Oba Edwards then called police for assistance for Lieutenant Anderson. Officer Brian Tunnell arrived at the scene and struck Russell Haines with a flashlight. Haines grabbed Lieutenant Anderson’s revolver which had come out of his holster in the fight and shot Officer Brian Tunnell point-blank.  Motel owner Oba Edwards, fearing Haines would shoot Lieutenant Anderson, began firing at Haines with his own .32-caliber revolver. Russell Haines returned fire twice then began running.  


Lieutenant Anderson retrieved Officer Brian Tunnell’s service revolver and caught up with Haines, who had tripped and fallen in the motel courtyard.  Russell Haines had dropped Anderson’s service revolver and was attempting to grab it when Lieutenant Anderson shot him to death.  


Officer Brian Jeffrey Tunnell, 37, died at the hospital three hours later.


Brian Tunnell was survived by his wife Brooke and is buried in Bluejacket Cemetery, Bluejacket, Craig County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 2N-2-20    NLEOM – 41W7


June 2, 2021





Albert Turner - Deputy Constable

City of Wilburton


On Thursday morning June 24, 1909, Sylvester Stennien aka “Alabama Red” was on trial in Justice of the Peace Franks’ court in Wilburton for being drunk and disorderly. During the trial Stennien was able to get near and grab the gun of Constable Goodman and began shooting. Constable Albert Turner, who also was in the court room, was shot in the stomach. Sylvester Stennien was then wounded by a shotgun blast and taken into custody by other Constables. Deputy Constable Albert Turner died the next day, Friday, June 25th from his stomach wound.


 Just after midnight, Saturday morning, June 26th a mob of about fifty masked men broke Sylvester Stennien out of jail in Wilburton and hanged him from a telephone pole near the jail.


The burial site of Deputy Constable Albert Turner is unknown.


OLEM – 9N-1-3    NLEOM – 12E29


February 1, 2023




Larry L. Turner - Special Agent

Defense Investigative Service


On Thursday morning June 24, 1909, Sylvester Stennien aka “Alabama Red” was on trial in Justice of the Peace Franks’ court in Wilburton for being drunk and disorderly. During the trial Stennien was able to get near and grab the gun of Constable Goodman and began shooting. Constable Albert Turner, who also was in the court room, was shot in the stomach. Sylvester Stennien was then wounded by a shotgun blast and taken into custody by other Constables. Deputy Constable Albert Turner died the next day, Friday, June 25th from his stomach wound.


 Just after midnight, Saturday morning, June 26th a mob of about fifty masked men broke Sylvester Stennien out of jail in Wilburton and hanged him from a telephone pole near the jail.


The burial site of Deputy Constable Albert Turner is unknown.


OLEM – 9N-1-3    NLEOM – 12E29


February 1, 2023





Will Turner, - Deputy Sheriff

Pottawatomie County, O.T.


Deputy Sheriff Will Turner was searching for Robert “Bob” Christian, one of the notorious Christian brothers, with a warrant for his arrest for grand larceny.  On Saturday, April 27, 1895, Deputy Sheriff Turner located Bob Christian near the town of Violet Springs, one of the toughest, most lawless border towns in Oklahoma Territory.  Bob Christian was with three other men, his brother Bill, “Buttermilk” John Mackey and Foster Holbrook. Deputy Sheriff Will Turner single-handedly confronted all four men in an attempt to serve his arrest warrant. Bob Christian told Will Turner to keep his warrant and drew his gun. Deputy Sheriff Will Turner was able to fire first and hit Bob Christian in the chest.  The shot did not injure Christian although it knocked him to the ground, as it was discovered Bob Christian was wearing a steel vest plate. All four men opened fire on Deputy Sheriff Will Turner, killing him.  


All four men were soon tracked down and arrested. Following their trials, Foster Holbrook was acquitted, “Buttermilk” John Mackey was sentenced to two years in prison, William “Bill” Christian received a five-year prison sentence and Robert “Bob” Christian received a ten-year sentence.


Bob and Bill Christian were still in the Oklahoma County Jail appealing their cases on June 30, 1895, when they escaped with James Casey, killing Oklahoma City Police Chief John Milton Jones. James Casey, being held for the murder of Canadian County Deputy Sheriff Sam Farris, was killed during the escape. William “Bill” Christian escaped but was later killed in 1897 by a posse in Arizona.


Robert “Bob” Christian escaped and was never located.


The burial site of Deputy Sheriff Will Turner is unknown.


OLEM – 5N-2-18   NLEOM – 15W30


February 1, 2023





William Clifford "Bill" Turner - Guard Foreman

Oklahoma Department of Corrections


William “Bill” Turner served as an Atoka County Deputy Sheriff before he joined the staff of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester in 1931and soon was made a foreman of guards.


William Turner was the guard assigned to accompany Matt Kimes, once the state’s number one bad man, when Matt Kimes was permitted to leave the prison walls to go quail hunting during the season.


The afternoon of Thursday, July 18, 1935, William Turner, 44, was supervising a group of three prisoners working on the state prison farm about a mile from the main prison buildings in McAlester when he was struck by a bolt of lighting killing him instantly. The horse William Turner was riding was also killed.


The three prisoners who were stunned and burned also by the lightning bolt carried William Turner’s body back to the prison. No prisoner escaped. They were all hospitalized but were not seriously hurt.

 

William “Bill” Turner was survived by his wife Leora and their three children and is buried in Perkins Cemetery, Caney, Atoka County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 10S-2-3    NLEOM – 51E26


February 1, 2023





William  Moore "Willie" "Bill" Turner - Officer

Wynnewood Police Department


Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, January 4, 1971, Officer “Willie” Turner stopped to check a combination café/pool hall in north Wynnewood.  Officer Turner was off duty, but Chief Rex Holmes stated it was part of Officer Turner’s assignment to stop and check this area after completing his regular shift. Officer Turner had also been working on a case for about three weeks concerning someone delivering marijuana in the town.  Officer Turner became involved in a heated argument with George Walter Stevenson. Witnesses, after hearing a shot, found the officer dead on the floor, shot once in the head with a small caliber gun.  George Stevenson was arrested at the scene.  At George Stevenson’s trial, witnesses stated Stevenson fired a shot after walking away from a discussion with Officer Turner. George Stevenson was found guilty and sentenced to death. Upon appeal his sentence was modified to life in prison by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.


Officer William “Willie” Turner, 28, was Wynnewood’s first black police officer and was survived by his wife and five children.  Mrs. Turner was expecting their sixth child at the time of her husband’s death. William Tuner, a Vietnam veteran, had only been on the Wynnewood Police Department for three months.


William “Willie” Turner is buried in Hopewell Cemetery, Wynnewood, Garvin County, Oklahoma.


OLEM – 1N-2-2    NLEOM – 37W4 [Willie E Turner]


January 31, 2023





Robert C. Tyree - Officer

Okmulgee Police Department


Officer Robert Tyree, 68, was patrolling near the residence of an Okmulgee oil man, Charles E. Campbell in the early morning hours of Thursday, April 9, 1925. Officer Tyree observed a black man standing on the front porch of the Charles Campbell home. Officer Tyree parked his patrol car and walked back to the Campbell residence. As Officer Tyree approached the front porch, the man fired three shots at Officer Tyree hitting him once in the abdomen. Officer Tyree returned fire, but apparently missed. Officer Robert Tyree soon died from his wound. Officer Robert Tyree’s body was first taken to his one-hundred- and three-year-old father’s home in Purcell.


Officer Robert Tyree was survived by his wife Myrtle Margrett and four children and is buried in the Okmulgee Cemetery, Okmulgee, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma.


 Newspaper reports state that a man named Fred Wilson had been arrested in Holdenville for Officer Robert Tyree’s murder after another man known only as “Pork Chops” had been arrested and confessed to the murder and implemented Fred Wilson and another unidentified man who was still at large in the murder.


OLEM – 3S-3-9    NLEOM –


February 1, 2023





Thomas E. Tyus - Deputy Sheriff

Creek County Sheriff’s Office


Late the evening of Wednesday, July 19, 1911, Deputy Sheriff Thomas Tyus had gone to the home of L. M. Nichols in Bristow to make an arrest. When Deputy Sheriff Tyus did not locate the suspect at the home he went to a neighbor’s house and set on their porch to await the suspects return.


Deputy Sheriff Thomas Tyus apparently fell asleep on the porch while waiting. The neighbor lady, Mrs. Sankie was in the house and saw the deputy sheriff sleeping on her porch about 2 a.m. She then went for the night watchman, W. A. Rider.


When Night Watchman Rider arrived and tried to awaken the deputy sheriff on the dark porch, Deputy Sheriff Thomas Tyus jumped up and started fighting with Watchman W. A. Rider. Neither man knew the other was an officer. Night Watchman W. A. Rider was able to fire one shot wounding Deputy Sheriff Thomas Tyus. Deputy Sheriff Tyus died from his wound later that day, July 20th about 5:30 p.m.

 

Deputy Sheriff Thomas Tyus was a widower of about one year and was survived by a son and three daughters and is buried in Bristow Cemetery, Bristow, Creek County, Oklahoma.


Both Night Watchman W. A. Ryder and Mrs. Sankie were charged with Deputy Sheriff Thomas Tyus’ murder.


OLEM – 4N-2-9    NLEOM – 28W26


July 20, 2021