Deputy Sheriff Joseph P. Stevens

Joseph P. Stevens

Deputy Sheriff Joseph Stevens was shot and killed by the chief deputy in a case of mistaken identity.

They were conducting surveillance along the Southern Railroad tracks in Burnsville in an attempt to identify a group of men who had sabotaged the tracks the previous night. The men had placed railroad ties across the tracks in an attempt to wreck Southern Railroad's passenger train No. 27.

The two were supposed to be approximately one-half mile apart during the surveillance. As Deputy Stevens stepped from some bushes 30 yards away the chief deputy mistook him for an armed suspect. Not recognizing him, the chief deputy called out and then fired when he failed to receive a response. The blast fatally wounded Deputy Stevens.