Sheriff Harry Harris

Harry Harris

Sheriff Harris was shot and killed when he confronted a robbery suspect on a train in Eau Claire County.

He was traveling to Elroy to take custody of another robbery suspect when he recognized the suspect on the train. The suspect on the train was involved in the same robbery as the suspect the sheriff was going to pick up. When Sheriff Harris confronted the suspect the man produced a revolver and shot him three times.

The suspect was also wanted for the murder of Policeman Fred Stevens, of the Havre, Montana, Police Department, the previous month.

On January 1st, 1905, a 26-year-old man convicted of murdering the mayor of Thompson, Illinois, on September 17th, 1904, was identified as the killer of Sheriff Harris. The mayor was shot and killed by the suspect as he assisted the local constable in arresting him for robbing a saloon. The suspect was sentenced to life in Joliet Penitentiary where he later died.

Sheriff Harris was survived by his wife and two sons.