SPD Memorial Page

 

Contrary to the knowledge of the some of the public, the Somerset Police Department has lost several men in the line of duty.  From 1928 to today, SPD has lost two police chiefs, one patrolman and a sheriff who once served as our chief.  It is the purpose of this web site to educate the public and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect the citizens of the City of Somerset.

This web site contains information on all officers known to this department as killed in the line of duty.  They include officers from the former Kentucky Highway Patrol, the Burnside Town Marshal’s Office, Pulaski County Sheriff Department and the Somerset Police.

***Photos to be added when available****

 

January 15, 1928

Chief of Police Silas West

Somerset Police Department

 

Chief West was attempting to make an arrest on the square in downtown Somerset when he was shot by Perry Chumbley.  Patrolman McKinley Massingale and Chief West returned fire, killing Chumbley.  

 

 

November 1, 1929

Patrolman McKinley Massingale

Somerset Police Department

 

Patrolman Massingale, Patrolman Sam Waddle and Patrolman James Jasper attempted to serve a warrant on a suspected bootlegger at a restaurant on South Maple Street.  Patrolman Massingale was killed by a single shot from Ivan Hunter as Waddle tried to open the front door of the restaurant.

 

 

March 13, 1938

Highway Patrolman Mose Littrell

Kentucky Highway Patrol

 

Patrolman Littrell was killed in the Sandy Gap area of Pulaski County while trying to remove a vehicle from blocking the road.  Leslie Farmer shot Patrolman Littrell four times, but Patrolman Littrell returned fire and hit Farmer four times, killing him.  Patrolman Littrell died in a Lexington hospital.

 

 

September 30, 1948

Marshal George Southwood

Burnside Marshal’s Office

 

Marshal Southwood was shot by Constable Joe Halcomb during a labor dispute when the Cumberland River Bridge was being constructed for Lake Cumberland.  Southwood was at the construction site to investigate reports of gambling among striking workers.

 

 

July 3, 1952

Sheriff James B. Jasper

Pulaski County Sheriff Department

 

Former Somerset PD Chief James Jasper was shot during an ambush while investigating a bootlegger in the Bogle Street area of Somerset.

 

 

September 16, 1964

Chief Harold Lewis Catron

Somerset Police Department

 

Chief Catron was shot on his front porch on Jasper Street by a drive-by shooter in 1957.  He died from complications from the shooting when a bullet fragment worked loose and lodged in his heart.

 

 

December 2, 1961

Deputy Sheriff Douglas Hutton

Pulaski County Sheriff Department

 

Deputy Hutton was attempting to arrest Beecher Burton, an escaped convict, at his home in the Trimble community of western Pulaski County.  Deputy Hutton was covering other officers when Burton shot the deputy in the chest with a deer slug.

 

 

February 1, 1988

Deputy Sheriff James Richardson

Pulaski County Sheriff Department

 

Deputy Richardson died from a heart attack while in a physical fitness portion of the basic training academy in Richmond, Kentucky.

 

 

April 13, 2002

Sheriff Sam Catron

Pulaski County Sheriff Department

 

Sheriff Catron was shot by Danny Shelly while leaving political rally in Shopville in eastern Pulaski County.  Former Deputy Sheriff Jeff Morris, running against Sheriff Catron for the Republican nomination for Sheriff and Kenneth White were also charged and convicted for their part in the planning and execution of the assassination.

 

 

Updated November 21, 2006

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