Posted 6:17 am Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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Smith County's 14 Fallen Officers Remembered
TylerPaper.com video
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The Smith County law enforcement community paid their respects for fallen brothers and sisters in blue during a memorial ceremony Monday afternoon.
The 14 officers who lost their lives in Smith County since the 1800s were remembered as were the 166 officers killed in the line of duty across the nation last year.
Don Martin, Tyler Police Department spokesman, said he was pleased with Monday's turnout.
"We had a pretty good show of officers today, and it went very well," Martin said after the ceremony. "As a part of National Police Week, our nation will pay tribute to peace officers from across the country who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty," he said.
Honor guards from Tyler Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Smith County Sheriff's Office and Lindale Police Department took part in the ceremony to honor Texas law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty from May 2011 to May 2012.
A 21-gun salute, the playing of taps and the riderless horse helped mark the event.
Smith County Deputy Robert Britton Jr. was killed on March 28, 2011, when he was attacked by an injured cow while directing traffic.
Britton's name was added to the other fallen officers on the memorial on the east side of the plaza.
There were four names added to the marker in 2009, including Smith County Sheriff's deputies David Neal and James Holden, who were killed in a shootout Sept. 27, 1851, when family members attempted to break out a man being held for attempted murder. Three other men were killed, and Sheriff John N. McKinley was seriously injured when he was attacked with an axe during the incident.
Sheriff's Deputy Duff G. Williams was shot and killed on Aug. 26, 1869, when two men assaulted the deputy with a double-barrel shotgun. He reportedly died instantly.
Other officers killed in the line of duty in Smith County include:
* According to reports, Sheriff’s Deputy Marion D. Norton, a former Texas Ranger, had been in the jail on some business and when he retrieved his pistol from a table, it dropped to the floor killing him. The incident also was in the late 1800s. He was the son of a former district state judge.
* Tyler Police Officer M.J. Buie, June 26, 1946, was stabbed on a bus during a domestic dispute. He later died of his injuries.
* Tyler Officer Burl Whittington, 24, was killed in a car wreck during a pursuit on Mother’s Day 1955.
* Tyler Officer M.F. Nichol, 24, died as a result of a crash during a pursuit on Oct. 12, 1962.
* Tyler Officer Eugene Vickers died shortly before 8 p.m. on March 29, 1963, when he was struck by a vehicle while investigating a traffic accident.
* FBI Special Agent Charles Brown was killed July 5, 1973, while he was en route to investigate a case. Brown’s vehicle was crushed when a gasoline transporter overturned.
* Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Dan Higdon was killed in March 1983 during a traffic stop on Interstate 20 east of Farm-to-Market Road 2015. Higdon and another trooper stopped two tractor-trailers. One of the trucks rolled back and pinned Higdon and one of the truck drivers between the two trucks. Both men were killed.
* Smith County Sheriff’s Deputy Walt Terry was killed in 1986 when he was thrown from his horse during a parade.
* DPS Trooper candidate and former Smith County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Ray Carty died on May 26, 2005, from injuries sustained in a hand-to-hand combat training exercise in Austin.
* Smith County Constable Dale David Geddie was shot to death when he answered a domestic dispute call on June 7, 2006.
Geddie’s father walked with his widow during the ceremony Monday as they laid a red rose at the base of the memorial.
“I really like the way they put these things together. It’s a nice remembrance to the men and women who gave all for the job,” Precinct 2 Constable candidate James Lee said.
* According to reports, Sheriff’s Deputy Marion D. Norton, a former Texas Ranger, had been in the jail on some business and when he retrieved his pistol from a table, it dropped to the floor killing him. The incident also was in the late 1800s. He was the son of a former district state judge.
* Tyler Police Officer M.J. Buie, June 26, 1946, was stabbed on a bus during a domestic dispute. He later died of his injuries.
* Tyler Officer Burl Whittington, 24, was killed in a car wreck during a pursuit on Mother’s Day 1955.
* Tyler Officer M.F. Nichol, 24, died as a result of a crash during a pursuit on Oct. 12, 1962.
* Tyler Officer Eugene Vickers died shortly before 8 p.m. on March 29, 1963, when he was struck by a vehicle while investigating a traffic accident.
* FBI Special Agent Charles Brown was killed July 5, 1973, while he was en route to investigate a case. Brown’s vehicle was crushed when a gasoline transporter overturned.
* Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Dan Higdon was killed in March 1983 during a traffic stop on Interstate 20 east of Farm-to-Market Road 2015. Higdon and another trooper stopped two tractor-trailers. One of the trucks rolled back and pinned Higdon and one of the truck drivers between the two trucks. Both men were killed.
* Smith County Sheriff’s Deputy Walt Terry was killed in 1986 when he was thrown from his horse during a parade.
* DPS Trooper candidate and former Smith County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Ray Carty died on May 26, 2005, from injuries sustained in a hand-to-hand combat training exercise in Austin.
* Smith County Constable Dale David Geddie was shot to death when he answered a domestic dispute call on June 7, 2006.
Geddie’s father walked with his widow during the ceremony Monday as they laid a red rose at the base of the memorial.
“I really like the way they put these things together. It’s a nice remembrance to the men and women who gave all for the job,” Precinct 2 Constable candidate James Lee said.
