Sergeant J. A. "Doc" Hands, Sapulpa Police Department, Oklahoma

Sergeant J. A. "Doc" Hands

Sapulpa Police Department, Oklahoma

End of Watch Sunday, March 3, 1918

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J. A. "Doc" Hands

Sergeant Doc Hands succumbed to an injury sustained the previous day when he was struck in the head while walking into the police station.

The former acting police chief had engaged Sergeant Hands in an argument in front of the station. The former chief held a grudge against Sergeant Hands as the result of testimony the sergeant made that contributed to the chief's dismissal from the force.

As Sergeant Hands walked back into the police station the former chief struck him in the head, causing him to fall to the floor. The chief then kicked him in the head. Sergeant Hands suffered a fractured skull as a result of the attack and died the following morning.

Sergeant Hands was survived by his wife and two children.

Bio

Age 50
Tour Not available
Badge Not available

Incident Details

Cause Assault
Incident Date Saturday, March 2, 1918
Weapon Person
Offender Not available

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Sergeant James Amos “Doc” Hands is my paternal grandfather. He was born on November 12, 1869 in Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas. Like his grandfather before him he died in a dispute with another man. He left a wife and two young children when he died, his daughter was 10 years old and his son, my father, was 4 years old.

The "Doc" reference: James A. Hands was a veterinarian in Newkirk, Kay County, Oklahoma (ca. 1910), prior to moving to Sapulpa.

Vernon T Hands
Paternal Grandson

September 15, 2020