Chief of Police Edward Coleman Ziglar

Edward Coleman Ziglar

Chief of Police Ed Ziglar was shot and killed while he and a police officer from the Madison Police Department attempted to serve warrants on to twin brothers near Cardwell Mills.

They were confronted by the two 22-year-old brothers and their father. The father opened fire with a shotgun, shooting Chief Ziglar in the face and body. The other officer was able to retreat to safety and called for assistance. All three men were arrested and charged with Chief Ziglar's murder.

The father was tried and acquitted. His two sons were convicted of second degree murder and sentenced from 12 to 25 years. One was pardoned by Governor Max Gardner on March 14, 1929. On April 22, 1933, he was shot and killed by his nephew in Mayodan. On July 18, 1923, the other brother escaped from Caledonia Prison in Halifax County. He was captured three months later in Stokes, Pitt County. He was paroled before 1930 and killed in an automobile accident in Virginia in 1941.


Chief Ziglar had served with the Mayodan Police Department for five years and had previously served with the Winston-Salem Police Department. He was survived by his wife and six children.