Police Officer Charles Patman

Charles Patman

Police Officer Charles Patman was shot and killed while he and his partner searched a man suspected of having a concealed weapon. During the search a second man approached them and fatally shot Officer Patman in the face and wounded his partner.

Both suspects fled the scene but were later apprehended. The man who shot the officers had recently been acquitted of murdering to men in Hearn, Texas, and was a notorious outlaw. He was charged with murder and attempted murder but the charges were dismissed in 1879 when the key witness in the case disappeared.

Officer Patman was survived by his wife and three children.