“Bravery is not the absence of fear, but action (the mastery of it) in the face of fear.” — John Berridge
End of Watch: 2/21/2019
Age: 63
Badge: 306
Undersheriff Monty Johnson was killed in a vehicle crash on Highway 18 north of the Cimarron Turnpike at 7:00 am.
Another vehicle crossed the center line and struck Undersheriff Johnson's patrol car head-on.
Undersheriff Johnson is survived by his wife and children.
End of Watch: 10/13/2001
Age: 36
Years of Service: 16
Badge: 500
Offender: Sentenced to Life
Sheriff Dwight Woodrell was shot and killed while investigating suspicious activity outside of an oil and gas drilling company at approximately 0300 hours.
He and other officers had completed a search warrant for an unrelated case when the sheriff decided to check on the business. While on the scene, he radioed for backup, and when other units arrived, they found him in his patrol car with five to six gunshot wounds. He was still conscious and was able to give the officers a description and possible name of a suspect before succumbing to his injuries on the way to the hospital.
Two suspects were charged with murdering Sheriff Woodrell. The two had been arrested on unrelated charges and were charged while in jail. The primary suspect was sentenced to life in prison.
Sheriff Woodrell had served with the Pawnee County Sheriff's Department for 16 years. He is survived by his wife and four young children.
End of Watch: 12/07/1930
INCIDENT DETAILS
Deputy Hartwick was shot and killed when he and two other deputies went to a local farm to arrest a man for shooting two young boys, killing one. As they approached the house the man opened fire on them, striking Deputy Hartwick in the head. The suspect surrendered to a posse in Ralston, Oklahoma, but then opened fire on the posse members and severely wounded one of them, before being subdued.
The suspect, a 65-year-old farmer, said he shot the boys because they were bothering him. The boys were returning a chain they had borrowed without his permission to pull their horse free from a nearby ditch he was stuck in.
The suspect pleaded self-defense in all four shootings. A jury reduced his charges to manslaughter and he was given a four-year sentence. After serving nine months he was granted a leave of absence. He was pardoned by Governor William H. Murray in September of 1934. On September 20, 1937, he shot and killed a neighbor near Pawnee following an argument. Five weeks later he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Deputy Hartwick had been with the agency for five years and was survived by his wife and seven children.
End of Watch: 1/12/1915
Age: 36
Offender: Sentenced to Life
Deputy Sheriff Robert Moore was shot and killed after responding to a robbery of the First National Bank in Terlton. When he arrived at the scene, he fired at one of the three suspects in an attempt to stop the man. The suspect returned fire, striking Deputy Moore in the chest.
Two of the suspects were captured later that day. The third suspect was later captured. The shooter was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. He was paroled in 1937. Another suspect was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 25 years. The third suspect was sentenced to five years. In 1929 he killed a man in Macintosh County and was sentenced to life.
Deputy Moore was survived by his wife and four children.
End of Watch: 3/19/1901
Offender: Died in Prison
Deputy Sheriff Tom Johnson was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest a murder suspect wanted for killing a man while robbing a store in Red Rock a day earlier.
The Pawnee County Sheriff, Deputy Johnson, and another deputy went to a home near Pawnee where a Noble County Deputy Sheriff had located the suspect. As they approached, the suspect opened fire, killing Deputy Johnson instantly. As the other officers emptied their guns, the suspect fled from the home and escaped.
The suspect, a notorious outlaw, who had escaped from the Kansas State Penitentiary in November of 1900, fled to Missouri where he changed his name and led a quiet life working for a farmer for seven years. In November 1908, he was sentenced to four years in the Missouri State Penitentiary for stealing a horse. A few months later, his true identity was discovered when another inmate recognized him and told prison officials.
The suspect was returned to Oklahoma, where he was sentenced to life in prison on January 29, 1912, for the murder of the man he killed while robbing the store in Red Rock. He died in prison on September 19, 1950.
End of Watch: 5/21/1899
Deputy Sheriff J.H. Siler was killed as he and another officer attempted to serve a warrant on a suspect wanted for cattle theft.
One of the subject's gunshots struck Deputy Siler's horse. The horse fell and crushed Deputy Siler, causing him to suffer fatal injuries. The wanted man was able to escape from the scene.
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