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 and Detective Larry Hopper 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.
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K-9 Cezar 
September 11, 2007
On September 11, 2007, Officer Gabe Allen and his partner, K-9 Cezar, were dispatched to Buffalo Wild Wings for an armed robbery that had just occurred. When Allen and Cezar arrived on scene, suspect Paul White was fleeing the scene on foot. A foot chase ensued in which Cezar was shot above his right eye during the pursuit. Suspect Paul White was cornered by police in a shed behind Fuddruckers restaurant where he eventually was apprehended and taken into custody by officers. Cezar was taken to a Joplin veterinarian who cares for the department's K-9's where he later succumbed to his injury. White was sentenced to four years for shooting and killing a police dog.
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Officer Jefferson "Jeff" Taylor 
June 3, 2011
On May 22, 2011, an F-5 tornado ripped through the City of Joplin, destroying over 30% of the city. Officer Taylor was among many first responders from all over the state of Missouri as well as other states who responded to this tragedy. It was on May 23, 2011 when Officer Taylor was struck by lightning while assisting with the rescue efforts in Joplin at 20th and Connecticut. He was taken to a Springfield hospital where he remained until he succumbed to his injuries on June 3, 2011. Officer Jeff Taylor is the only officer in the history of Riverside Police Department to die in the line of duty. He is also the only emergency disaster responder to pass away as a result of Joplin's May 22 tornado.
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