Chief of Police Amos Morris

Amos Morris

Chief of Police Amos Morris was shot and killed while transporting two suspects to the Fairmont Jail on U.S. Route 250.

The couple that he had arrested included a runaway female and a male wanted for writing bad checks. He was transporting the two to Fairmont because Mannington did not have a jail. Additionally, Chief Morris only carried his handgun on Saturday nights since the crime rate was so low in Mannington.

During the transport, the male suspect pulled a .32 caliber handgun from his pocket and ordered him to pull over. Chief Morris told the man not to do anything he would be sorry as the female suspect begged the suspect to put the gun down. The suspect then shot Chief Morris several times. The suspects fled the scene, but the female suspect later fled from the male suspect and turned herself in. The male suspect fled to North Carolina where he committed suicide as police closed in on him.

Chief Morris had served as the Chief of Police for the Mannington Police Department for eight years and in law enforcement for 20 years. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and three sons.