Officer Daniel Sheehan         July 19, 1885

    Officer Daniel Sheehan was shot and killed July 19, 1885 near Second and Main.  He and two other officers were attempting to arrest Joseph Thornton on an arrest warrant when Thornton pulled a gun and shot the officer.  Thornton was taken into custody after the shooting but an angry mob broke him out of jail and hung him in a maple tree at the corner of Second and Wall.

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Officer Bert Brannon               April 23, 1901

Officer Bert Brannon had arrested seven vagrants in the Kansas City bottoms in the early morning hours of April 23, 1901. As the group was being marched to the station, a number of them turned on the officer and shot. The shooting occurred at First and Main. Officer Brannon died the following day. The vagrants were never identified or captured.

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Officer James Sweeney        April 23, 1901

    Officer James Sweeney had arrested seven vagrants in the Kansas City bottoms in the early morning hours of April 23, 1901.  As the group was being marched to the station, a number of them turned on the officer and shot him with his own gun.   The shooting occurred at First and Main.  Officer Sweeney died hours after the shooting.  The vagrants were never identified or captured.

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Officer Theodore Leslie              April 14, 1903

    On April 14, 1903, Officer Theodore Leslie was investigating the theft of a gun from a hardware store when he was shot and killed.  The suspect was Thomas Gilyard, a tramp who was hiding in a boxcar on the tracks near Broadway.  the tramp began firing at the Officer and shot him in the head.  the officer died almost instantly.  Gilyard was captured the next day and placed in the City Jail.  But once again, an angry mob stormed the jail, taking Gilyard from it and to the corner of Second and Main where he was hung.

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Officer John Ledbetter                  June 7, 1903

    On June 7, 1903, Officer John Ledbetter was attempting to break up a group of unruly drunks in the Northwest part of town.  When the group would not obey the orders to disperse, Officer Ledbetter attempted to arrest the leader of the group.   When he did, another member of the group struck him in the back of the head with a rock.  The officer's skull was fractured and he died from the injury on June 10, 1903.  It was never learned who assaulted the officer, although one member of the group, John McConnell, admitted to the killing years later on his death bed.

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Officer Claude Brice              December 31, 1904

    On December 31, 1904, Officer Claude Brice received information that a business on the 100 block of Main was about to be burglarized.  As he went to investigation, he saw a couple of suspicious characters standing in the shadows of the Northwest corner of First and Main.  As one of them ran, he ordered him to stop.   A gun battle ensued.  Officer Brice was shot and died almost instantly.   Three men were arrested, Estile Butler, teddy Daley, and John Franklin.  Each received long prison sentences, but Daley and Franklin later escaped.

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Officer William Smith             November 15, 1909

    On November 15, 1909, Officer William Smith was involve in a raid on several houses of prostitution in the City.  He and Officer Tim Graney arrested Jessie Schmulback at 802 Main after the raid of that establishment.  Outside, the officers were confronted by the prisoner's husband, William Schmulback, who pulled a gun and began firing at the Officers.  Both Officers were hit.  Officer Smith was shot in the chest, the wound from which he died.  Schmulback was finally captured two years later and sentenced to 30 years in prison.  Two years later, he was released after a new trial.

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Reserve Officer Louis S. Wells         June 3, 1916

    On June 3, 1916, Reserve Officer Louis S. Wells came upon some men loitering in the KC bottoms. After questioning them, he began to search them. As he was doing so, one of the men, Wibur Mason, ran away. Officer Louis chased him for about 100 yards when Mason stopped and turned around as if to give up. Instead, Mason pulled a gun and shot Officer Louis who died moments later.

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Detective William Woolsey         December 8, 1917

    On December 8, 1917, Detective William Woolsey was standing on the 3rd Street Viaduct when Frank Warren and Chub Hardin attempted to rob him and another citizen he was talking to at the time.  Although Warren had stuck a pistol in Woolsey's abdomen, the Detective still went for his gun and had even squeezed the trigger before Warren realized what was happening.  The Detective's gun did not fire, however so the Detective pulled the trigger a second time.  So did Warren.  Both guns fired and both men fell to the ground and died.  Chub Hardin was captured later, but because he was a juvenile, he received no harsh punishment.

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Chief of Detectives, Jessie Laster    August 23, 1926

    On August 23, 1926, Chief of Detectives Jessie Laster was traveling home with his family after a night out with friends. The family car was stopped by an armed man standing in the roadway
northwest of the city. It is believed that the unknown man thought the Laster vehicle was occupied by bootleggers trying to move in on his territory. When he found out that Laster was a police detective, he shot and killed him.  The murderer was never identified or captured.

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Detective Alex Brown            December 18, 1928

    On December 18, 1928, Detective Alex Brown along with Detective Ed Hall, went to Carterville to question Claude Miller on a forgery case.  When they made contact, Miller pulled a gun on the Detectives and disarmed them both.  As Miller went to the Detective's car to make his getaway, Detective Brown went to a nearby house and secured a shotgun.  he ran back to the Detective's car just as Miller was about to drive away.  As Detective Brown raised the gun and attempted to make it fire, Miller fired at him before driving away.  Miller's bullet struck Brown, passing through his chest.  He died a few hours later.  Miller was captured and sentenced to life in prison, but in 1946, he was given a new trial and because of a lack of witnesses, he was released.

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Captain Alex Lachman         June 26, 1931

    On June 26, 1931, Captain Alex Lachman and Officer Walte Flenner arrested Harry Spencer who was wanted in connection with an auto theft.  While they were transporting the prisoner to the City Jail, Spencer pulled a gun and shot Captain Lachman.  Lachman was able to return fire and shot Spencer several times.   Captain Lachman died at the scene and Spencer died a few days later at a local hospital.

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Detective Harry McGinnis         April 23, 1933

    Detective Harry McGinnis was killed April 13, 1933, in a gun battle with the Barrow Gang near 34th and Oak Ridge.  Newton County Constable, J. W. Harryman was also killed in the shootout.  The Barrow Gang consisted of Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker, Buck and Blanche Barrow, and W. D. Jones.  The gang escaped under a hail of bullets.  Buck, Blanche, and W. D. Jones were all captured later and Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a trap set in Louisiana.

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Chief Kendrick Lloyd         April 17, 1948

    Chief of Police Kendrick Lloyd was killed on April 17, 1948 in an automobile accident.  He had been to Miami, Oklahoma to show off Joplin's new radio equipped police car.  On his return trip to Joplin, he crossed the center line and struck a truck head on.  The accident occurred just outside of Baxter Springs.

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Officer Ray Endicott         October 8, 1949

    Officer Ray Endicott was injured October 7, 1949 when the police motorcycle he was riding went out of control near 11th and Rangeline, throwing him to the pavement.  He died October 8, 1949.

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Officer Robert Clifton               December 5, 1967

    On December 5, 1967, Officer Robert Clifton stopped a vehicle with Texas License plates on a routine investigation.  the vehicle was occupied by five Texas youths who had robbed a grocery store in Oklahoma just hours before.  The driver, Ronnie Hogue, pulled a gun on Officer Clifton and in the struggle to disarm him, Clifton was shot in the chest.  Hogue was then shot by back-up Officer Paul Bowlby.   Officer Clifton died at the scene.  Hogue lived several months before dying of his wounds.

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Officer Paul Harlan           December 6, 1979

    Officer Paul Harlan was involved in a high speed pursuit when he lost control of his vehicle at Main and Murphy Boulevard, and crashed.  He died on December 6, 1979 from complications resulting from his injuries.  Dale Allen, the driver of the pursued vehicle, was arrested and convicted of Manslaughter.

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Lieutenant Richard Gammill        September 7, 1989

    On May 22, 1980, three Joplin Officers were dispatched to Howard Johnson's Hotel.  A subject at the hotel stated he had been shot while on the interstate.  Officer Jon Hubbard (still with J.P.D.) and Detective Larry Hopper (also still with J.P.D.) attempted to interview the subject.  When Sergeant Richard Gammill arrived at the scene, the subject, Michael McCall, pulled a .38 caliber handgun and fired on all three officers.  Sergeant Gammill was shot in the upper left shoulder and the right mid-section of the back.  As a result of these injuries, Sergeant Gammill suffered from stress diabetes and future medical complications which led to his death.   As a Lieutenant, Gammill died on September 7, 1989.  Michael McCall was shot three times by Detective Hopper and died as a result of those wounds.

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Officer Timothy Nielson         September 13, 2004

   On August 10, 2004, Officer Greg Batson and Officer Tim Nielson were dispatched at 10:18 a.m. to 904 McKinley to check on the well being of a subject who may have been suicidal. While investigating the call to the home, an explosion occurred, injuring both officers.
    The resident, David Riley, was fatally wounded in the incident. Officer Greg Batson was released from the hospital and is recovering. Officer Tim Nielson succumbed to his injuries on September 13, 2004 at 21:00 hours at the Springfield, Mo. St. John's Burn Unit.