Deputy Sheriff Elbert Percey Sweet

Elbert Percey Sweet

Deputy Sheriff Elbert Sweet was shot and killed as he responded to a house in Blackfoot where two men were robbing Japanese railroad workers at 5:30 pm.

Deputy Sweet was met at the door by one of the suspects, who shot him point-blank in the face. The suspects then chased the railroad foreman, who was with Deputy Sweet, into a building across the street, where they shot him three times and beat him into insensibility. A regular gun battle followed with several citizens and another deputy attracted to the scene. The deputy shot and killed one of the suspects. Physicians at the scene worked on Deputy Sweet, but he never regained consciousness and passed away within the hour.

The other suspect escaped and fled into the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, where he was apprehended the next day. He was hanged at the Idaho State Prison in Boise on December 16, 1904.

Deputy Sheriff Sweet had served with the Bingham County Sheriff's Office for five years and had served in law enforcement for 12 years. He was survived by his wife and three children.