Police Officer Will Garr

Will Garr

Officer Garr was shot and killed by a man whom he had arrested. The man, who was sentenced to prison, held Officer Garr responsible for a prison sentence that he felt was unjustified. When released, the man opened a saloon and accused Officer Garr of harrassing him and his customers. The man located Officer Garr and the two exchanged words before the man produced a gun and shot Officer Garr four times.

The suspect was convicted of Officer Garr's murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was pardoned on November 4, 1917. On June 4, 1918, he was arrested for stealing a car in Joplin, Missouri, and sent to prison. In September of 1924 he was arrested again after he and four other men engaged in a gun battle with several officers in Coffeyville, Kansas, after they were caught stealing a car. One officer was shot and wounded. Citizens old enough to remember said the shootout was a lot like one on October 5, 1892, when citizens shot it out with the Dalton Gang as they attempted to rob two banks at the same time.