Law Enforcement Memorial

Deputy Sheriff Clark Muriel Rosenbalm, Jr.

End of Watch: December 4, 1983

Deputy Clark Muriel Rosenbalm Jr. was born and raised in Tarrant County. He graduated from Diamond Hill – Jarvis High School and held several positions before he became employed by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office in 1981 as a Patrol Deputy.

Deputy Rosenbalm was on patrol on December 4, 1983 when he came across two vehicles parked on the west side of old Decatur Road. Deputy Rosenbalm decided to conduct an investigation, and left his car to approach the two vehicles. Rosenbalm quickly discovered the two vehicles were in the middle of a drug deal. The suspects, in an attempt to escape, struggled with Deputy Rosenbalm before firing a .357 caliber handgun and ultimately killing him when the bullet went under his bulletproof vest. He was 28 years old. Two suspects were eventually captured, one of which was Troy Farris. Farris was sentenced to death by the jury, and executed in 1999. 

Deputy Rosenbalm was the first Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office employee to be killed in the line of duty in almost 40 years. He was survived by his wife, Cindy.

Constable Earl Franklin “Andy” Andrews

End of Watch: June 7, 1975

Constable for Precinct 8, Andrews was listening to a report of a hit-and-run incident on the police radio in his car while traveling through Lavaca County on the way home from a family vacation. He noticed a van matching the description given on the radio. Constable Andrews stopped the van, and the side door opened. A man jumped out of the vehicle with a shotgun and Constable Andrews ordered the man to put down the weapon.  The man fired, hitting Andrews and knocking him to the ground. The suspect then shot him a second time, killing him, before firing through Constable Andrew’s windshield, hitting his wife in the arm. 

Constable Andrews was 49 at the time.  He was survived by his wife and four children.

Deputy Constable John “Johnnie” Pollock

End of Watch: June 20, 1933

Deputy Constable Pollock had been with Tarrant County’s Precinct 8 for 10 years when he was called to restore order at a public Juneteenth dance in Mansfield. When he arrived, he found a platform overcrowded with people. The crowd refused to take orders from the officers, so Constable Pollock and another deputy tried to remove the patrons from the platform. While doing so, Constable Pollock was stabbed in both the chest and leg with a knife, causing his death. He was 41 years old. 

Deputy Constable Pollock was survived by his wife, Bettie and three children.

Deputy Sheriff Malcolm Davis

End of Watch: January 6, 1933

Deputy Sheriff Malcolm Davis was born and is buried in Grapevine Texas. It is unknown when he joined the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, but he is listed as a Deputy on the letterhead of Sheriff Sterling Clark in 1920. On January 6, 1933, Deputy Davis, along with other deputies went into an unincorporated area of Dallas to investigate the robbery of the Home Bank in Grapevine. They wanted to question a suspect at her house, but quickly determined she was not at home. Three of the deputies decided to stake out the house for the night and Deputy Davis was assigned the rear of the house. Around midnight, a car pulled up to the house, retreated, and then returned. When the occupants of the car realized officers were present, they began firing at the house. Deputy Davis ran out from the back, and as he reached the front of the house, was shot in the abdomen with a shotgun. He sat down on the front porch of the home and almost immediately died. He was 52 years old. The two male suspects in the car were able to escape.

The man who shot Deputy Davis was later identified as Clyde Barrow, known from the infamous criminal duo of Bonnie and Clyde. After an intense chase through the Southwest, law enforcement officials finally killed Bonnie and Clyde in Louisiana on May 23, 1934.

Deputy Constable Bernell Looney Barton

End of Watch: April 25, 1931

Precinct 5 Deputy Constable Bernell Barton was investigating a traffic accident on Hemphill Street in Fort Worth. The two drivers in the accident got into a fight, and Deputy Constable stepped in to break it up. He sent both men to their cars, but as he was crossing the street, he was hit by a passing vehicle. Deputy Barton was taken to the local hospital, where he suffered from a fractured skull and broken leg. He passed away from his injuries two days later. He was 27 years old.

Deputy Constable Mordica W. Hurdleston

End of Watch: October 9, 1927

Deputy Constable Hurdleston was well-known locally due to his prior role as the Fort Worth Police and Fire Commissioner from 1915-1917. During a ten year break from law enforcement, Deputy Constable Hurdleston opened an auto parts business. After his business sold out, he moved on to work as a “lease man” for an oil company. He left the oil company and took up chicken ranching, but soon got the itch to return to law enforcement.  In 1927, at the age of 57, he became a Deputy to Precinct 1 Constable L.C. Mann. Deputy Hurdleston was killed while investigating sounds of gunfire near the intersection of East 17th Street and Terry Street. The suspect, Matthew Carter, who had been firing the shots immediately shot Deputy Constable Hurdleston in the chest, almost instantly killing him. He was 58 years old. Carter fled the scene, but was later arrested at his home. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for the death of Constable Hurdleston.

Deputy Constable Hurdleston was survived by his wife and two children.