The names of one hundred and fifty five (155) law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will soon be engraved on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial. The deaths date back to 1872.
“These officers have not been forgotten, we just have not had the space or money to engrave them on the memorial until now”, says Dennis Lippe, Chairman of the organization that oversees the memorial. Most of their stories have been on the memorial’s web site for several years. The newest granite stone to be added to the memorial was ordered in January 2014 to accommodate the names of the officers. The stone was not delivered until October. About the same time the stone was installed the memorial organization was looking at expanding the original memorial plaza to include the six stones that have been added outside of the plaza over the years since the memorial was dedicated on May 15, 1969. This is when contractors, who were to bid on the expansion project, discovered the plaza was starting to sink. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial organization is making efforts to raise the almost $60,000 needed to just make the repairs. The memorial is totally supported by donations even though it sits on state property on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters.
Oklahoma’s was the first state law enforcement memorial built in the United States.
Forty-eight (48) of the new names are those of officers of the US Marshal Service. Almost half of all the US Marshal Service officers who have died in the line of duty in the United States died in Oklahoma both before and after statehood.
The new names will be dedicated during the 48th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial Service to be conducted on Friday, May 20th.
Those officers being added are:
M. H. Adams, US Marshal Service, 1873;
Alexander A. Anderson, Grady County Sheriff’s Office, 1925;
Robert W. Arnold, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 1924;
John M. Beard , US Marshal Service, 1894;
Seth Beardsley, US Marshal Service, 1873;
Black Sut Beck, US Marshal Service, 1872;
Sam Beck, US Marshal Service, 1872;
William Beck, US Marshal Service, 1872;
Richard D. Bell, Haileyville Police Department, 1909;
William R. Benningfield, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1941;
William T. Bentz, US Marshal Service, 1872;
Joe Big Knife, US Indian Police, 1895;
Jim Billy, US Marshal Service, 1890;
Ed Bohanon, US Indian Police, 1895;
John R. Boston, US Indian Police, 1881;
A. J. Boyd, Langston Police Department, 1900;
George W. Bradley, Caney Police Department, 1920;
Benjamin F. Brashears, Panama City Police Department, 1919;
Howard O. Brewer, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, 1926;
Leander Brown, US Indian Police, 1882;
Robert B. Bryant, Depew Police Department , 1911;
Charles L. Bullock, Delaware Police Department, 1917;
William H. Butler, Bartlesville Police Department, 1915;
(First Name Unknown) Campbell, US Marshal Service, 1886;
James J. Campbell, US Marshal Service, 1891;
Felix Chapman, Okmulgee Police Department, 1908;
Charles F. Christian, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1935;
Henry D. Cobb, Bartlesville Police Department, 1935;
Reuben D. Coleman, Grayson County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1881;
D. B. Cook, Ardmore Police Department, 1908;
David S. Cox, Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, 1908;
Andrew Creason, Rock Island Railroad Police, 1903;
Billy Cully, Seminole Lighthorse, 1906;
Tom Dancer, Maud Police Department, 1906;
Kenneth L. Denton, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1989;
L. P. Dixon, US Marshal Service, 1907;
George M. Doolittle, Lampasas County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1879;
James Doss, El Reno Police Department, 1895;
Morris T. Dunn, Fannin County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1888;
Jerry D. Emerson, Logan County Sheriff’s Office, 1903;
Charles I. Epperson, Boynton Police Department, 1925;
Fred Evans, Mannford Police Department, 1911;
Frank Faulkner, US Marshal Service, 1894;
James E. Fields, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 1961;
Walter C. Floyd, Roff Police Department, 1923;
Robert S. Garrett, Hastings Police Department, 1909;
John Garritson, Delaware Police Department, 1917;
Franklin W. Goss, Chouteau Police Department, 1957;
James A. Hands, Sapulpa Police Department, 1918;
William T. Harden, US Marshal Service, 1890;
Henry L. Harper, Harmon County Sheriff’s Office, 1919;
West Harris, US Marshal Service, 1894;
Bill Harrison, US Marshal Service, 1894;
Joseph P. Heinrichs, US Marshal Service, 1899;
Jesse Hendrickson, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, 1893;
Isaac L. Hicks, Bartlesville Police Department, 1903;
William Hicks, US Marshal Service, 1872;
Ben J Higbee, Coyle Police Department, 1904;
Otto Holler, El Dorado Police Department, 1924;
Fred Hollingsworth, Washita County Sheriff’s Office, 1915;
Tom Hood, Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, 1933;
Luther Houston, US Marshal Service, 1902;
L. C. Hughes, Mill Creek Police Department, 1904;
William H. Humble , Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, 1930;
William D. Hutchins, Claremore Police Department, 1918;
Henry H. Jackson, US Bureau of Prohibition, DO J, 1932;
Aron W. Johnson, US Marshal Service, 1896;
Berry Jones, Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office, 1920;
Harrison Jones, Jackson Township Police Department, 1911;
William F. Jones, Fredrick Police Department, 1934;
Joseph M. Jordan, US Marshal Service, 1897;
Lincoln Keeney, US Marshal Service , 1894;
William Kirby, Jay Police Department, 1974;
T. John Kirk, Marble City Police Department, 1911;
William Kirksey, US Marshal Service, 1885;
James Knight, Cherokee Junction Police Department, 1901;
William Leech, US Marshal Service, 1884;
Webb H. Lester, Guthrie Police Department , 1894;
Anderson Lewis, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, 1905;
Johnson Lewis, Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office, 1893;
James R. Lindsey, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, 1926;
John C. Lunsford, Beggs Police Department, 1910;
Thomas R. Madden, US Marshal Service, 1896;
John T. Martin, Carnegie Police Department, 1960;
William Mayes, Federal Prohibition Unit, IRS, 1919;
William R. Mayfield, OK Department of Corrections, 1926;
William W. McCall, US Marshal Service, 1895;
Claude H. McDonald, Rock Island Railroad Police, 1911;
Henry McGill, Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office, 1883;
Herbert McIntosh, Jr., McAlester Police Department, 1984;
Mose McIntosh, US Marshal Service , 1888;
John McWeir, US Marshal Service, 1883;
Henry Miller, US Marshal Service, 1886;
Nimrod J. Miller, Burnett County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1881;
Benjamin F. Milligan, Cimarron County Sheriff’s Office, 1909;
Lem E. Mitchell, Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office, 1914;
James H. Murphy, Fairfax Police Department, 1912;
Howard E. Murray, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, 1910;
Charles M. Nichols, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, 1921;
Joe Nix, US Marshal Service, 1894;
Richard E. Oliver, Canute Police Department, 1983;
Slack Palmer, Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office, 1911;
James E. Parish, Bennington Police Department, 1912;
Henry Peckenpaugh, US Marshal Service, 1899;
John B. Pemberton, US Marshal Service, 1892;
Steve Pen-su-wau, US Marshal Service, 1891;
William Pitts, US Marshal Service, 1890;
John Poorbear, Fort Gibson Police Department, 1890;
Josiah Poorboy, US Marshal Service, 1891;
Harry L. Potter, Beaver County Sheriff’s Office, 1971;
Richard H. Pratt, Gore Police Department, 1927;
Marion Prickett, US Marshal Service , 1890;
Bud Pursley, US Marshal Service, 1884;
Ezekiel M. Putnam, Allen Police Department, 1909;
Robert Reed, US Marshal Service, 1889;
William T. Reynolds, Chandler Police Department, 1926;
William W. Roberts, Comanche County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1948;
Ralph Robinson, Rock Island Railroad Police, 1926;
William Roland, Shidler Police Department, 1927;
Wendell R. Rowan, Wright City Police Department, 1980;
Running Eagle, Pawnee Tribal Police Department, 1891;
Running Over Water, Ponca Tribal Police Department, 1908;
Sherman Russell, US Marshal Service, 1893 ;
John H. Scott, Quinton Police Department, 1918;
George W. Selvidge, US Marshal Service, 1872;
David Sizemore, US Marshal Service, 1890;
Donald W. Smiley, Texhoma Police Department, 1983;
Warren N. Smith, Bokchito Police Department, 1951;
James D. Snider, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 1921;
Charles C. Starr, Braggs Police Department, 1916;
George C. Starr, Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, 1912;
Charles H. Stricker, Commerce Police Department, 1919;
Jeff Surratt, San Bois County Sheriff’s Office, 1900;
J. H. Swinford, Kiefer Police Department, 1909;
Homer Teaff, Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, 1922;
William C. Temple, Anadarko Police Department, 1910;
Oscar M. Terry, Creek County Sheriff’s Office, 1913;
Albert Turner, Wilburton Police Department , 1909;
William C. Turner, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1935;
Thomas E. Tyus, Creek County Sheriff’s Office, 1911;
John Wall, Tatums Police Department, 1923;
James Ward, US Marshal Service, 1872;
James Ward, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, 1919;
Charles T. Warner, US Marshal Service, 1935;
Thomas Whitehead, US Marshal Service, 1891;
Adam Wilkins, Choctaw Tribal Police, 1920;
William O. Wilkins, Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office, 1924;
Jim Williams, US Marshal Service, 1889;
William Williams, Bismark Police Department, 1916;
Sore Lip Willie, US Marshal Service, 1889;
Charles B. Wilson, US Marshal Service, 1884;
J. C. Wilson, Weleetka Police Department, 1932;
Riley Woods, US Marshal Service, 1872;
Pleasant Yargee, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, 1909;
Thomas Young, US Marshal Service, 1882.
For more information on these officers or any of the almost eight hundred (800) law enforcement officers who have died in Oklahoma go to www.oklemem.com
