Patrolman T. Perry Gates

T. Perry Gates

Patrolman Perry Gates was shot and killed when he and his partner confronted three armed robbery suspects at the intersection of Third and King Streets. The suspects were wanted in Minnesota following a railroad boxcar robbery.

The suspects opened fire, striking Patrolman Gates twice, and in the process, scaring the police horses away (along with the other officer who was still in the buggy). When the other officer was able to return to the scene, Patrolman Gates was dead.

Patrolman Gates' killer was identified. He came close to being captured in Grand Rapids, Michigan, two years later, but escaped and was never seen again.

Patrolman Gates, who joined the La Crosse Police Department in 1897, was a widower (his wife drowned in 1898). He was raising his three children when he was killed.