Night Marshal John Wesley Rose

John Wesley Rose

Night Marshal John Rose was shot and killed while he and another marshal questioned a man in connection with a gas station robbery.

A citizen had seen the suspect asleep in a car at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Elson Street. When the officers arrived, the car was gone, but they located it a short distance away, driving on Elson Street. They followed it until it stopped at a filling station. As the officers attempted to question the man, he shot Marshal Rose and the other officer before escaping into nearby woods.

In 1933, the suspect was sentenced to life in prison for the 1932 murders of Patrolman Ira Evans and Patrolman Leo Gorski, both of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Department. In 1934, the suspect was believed to have gone insane and was transferred to a state hospital. Two years later, he led an escape of 15 inmates and continued to rob banks. On July 8th, 1936, he shot and killed Officer Cal Palmer, of the Enid, Oklahoma, Police Department, after getting drunk in a local bar.

Marshal Rose had served in law enforcement for 18 years. Survivors include his wife and six children.

He is buried in Maple Hills Cemetery, Kirksville, Missouri.

The Barker-Karpis Gang committed violent crimes throughout the American Midwest in the late 1920s and mid-1930s. Members and associates of the gang were responsible for the murders of at least ten law enforcement officers.

Please click here to view all the law enforcement officers killed by the Barker-Karpis Gang.