Type of Officer: Police Officer
Jurisdiction: Topeka
County: Shawnee
Death Date: 5/6/1912
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death: Gunshot
Officer Matthews, alerted that two men who had robbed the city marshal of Bonner Springs might be on the 6:00 a.m. train on May 5, 1912, went to the Union Pacific depot. When two suspicious looking men appeared, Matthews attempted to question them and one opened fire. Matthews, mortally wounded, returned their fire, wounding one of the assailants. Police Chief Morris Jenkins single-handedly captured one of the suspects in a hand-to-hand fight. The other wounded suspect was arrested near the Kansas River at Topeka. Matthews died the day after he was shot.
Panel: 27