Type of Officer: Deputy Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Johnson County
County: Johnson
Death Date: 6/23/1952
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death: Gunshot
Early on the morning of June 23, Sergeant Carver and Patrolman Floyd Gaunt were investigating an attempted auto theft. The officers located a car that resembled the stolen vehicle stalled in a ditch. Carver took cover in a hedgerow and awaited the suspect’s return. When two men returned with a stolen pickup to pull the car from the ditch, the officers ordered them to surrender. A gun battle ensued. Carver fired three round before he was killed. The suspects, Charles Isgrigg and William Martin, known as the “pillowcase” burglars because they carried their stolen loot in pillowcases, were wanted for various crimes. Isgrigg was captured the day following Carver’s slaying, and Martin, who made the FBI’s ten most wanted list, was not capture for two months. Carver was awarded the Medal of Valor by the National Police Officers Association.
Panel: 37