Assistant Chief of Police Silas W. Cope

Silas W. Cope

Assistant Chief of Police Silas Cope was shot and killed in Saint Louis, Oklahoma, while he and a Seminole County deputy were returning to Wewoka after taking a mental patient to the state hospital in Norman.

The two officers had stopped at a restaurant in Saint Louis to eat dinner. As they left the restaurant after eating they were ambushed by a bootlegger. Assistant Chief Cope was mortally wounded and died at a local hospital 90 minutes later. The deputy returned fire but did not strike the suspect.

The man was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was paroled on May 6, 1938.

Assistant Chief Cope was survived by his wife and four children.