Deputy Sheriff Lee Dicken

Lee Dicken

About midnight, Deputy Sheriffs Lee Dicken, Alex Champion, Ernest Garcia and Ray Driuilhat were attempting to stop a light truck, suspected of hauling a load of liquor about four and half miles from Brownsville, near the El Jardin pumping station. The deputies were waiting on the banks of the main canal when the truck appeared on the bridge. The driver was ordered to stop. Two men in the truck started firing on the deputies and Dicken was shot through the right shoulder, left ankle and under the arm. The suspects fled and eluted capture.

Deputy Sheriff Dicken had been engaged in law enforcement the greater part of his life. He had been a Texas Ranger with a long history of service on the border from El Paso to the Brownsville. He was also a member of the Arizona Ranger Force, a government scout and acted in various peace officer capacities. About a year before his death, he returned to Brownsville and was made a Deputy Sheriff.

Lee Dicken was survived by his wife, son, Jim Dicken 15, and daughter, Lillie Dicken, 17, all from San Benito, Texas. He was also survived by a brother, John Dicken. Dicken was buried at the Buena Vista Cemetery in Brownsville.