Chief John Edgar Taylor

John Edgar Taylor

Chief John Taylor was shot and killed by the town doctor the day after the doctor's barn burned down.

The doctor had an ongoing dispute with Chief Taylor and believed that the chief was responsible for the fire. The doctor located the chief in front of the NorthState building on Salem Street and shot him twice with a shotgun. The suspect then followed Chief Taylor into the store and shot him four more times with a handgun.

The suspect was sentenced to life in prison and was confined at the department for the criminally insane at the state prison in Raleigh. He escaped on August 29th, 1922.

In 1924 the suspect was located and arrested in California. Because of a legal technicality, the state of California refused to honor an extradition request from North Carolina and instead ordered him to be set free. In 1928 he died as the result of a mining accident in Winthrop, California.

Chief Taylor had served with the Thomasville Police Department for one year and had previously served with Winston-Salem Police Department. He was survived by his expectant wife.