Law Enforcement Memorial

Constable Robert Franklin Poe

End of Watch: December 23, 1925

By the time he was elected Constable for Precinct 1 in 1922, Constable Robert F. Poe had already served as a Deputy Sheriff and as a Reserve Officer with the Fort Worth Police Department. Constable Poe and his family were very well-known in town. Many people described Constable Poe as both hard-boiled and tenderhearted; he was a large bear of a man. On December 23, 1925, Constable Poe and a deputy went to the home of a man named Manuel Carson to arrest him for theft of tires. Carson met Constable Poe outside of his house and explained to Constable Poe that he needed to go inside to speak with his wife. Carson started walking toward his house, and Constable Poe ordered him to stop moving. Carson quickly turned around and shot Constable Poe twice with a .38-caliber pistol. The deputy that was with Constable Poe struggled with Carson until eventually shooting him twice. Due to the severity of their injuries, both Constable Poe and Carson were pronounced dead at the scene.  Constable Poe was 41 years old.

After his death, Tarrant County Commissioners appointed Constable Poe’s 32-year-old widow, Lela to take over the position as Constable.

Guard Earl W. Darby

End of Watch: July 1, 1921

During the early to mid-1900s, many Texas counties operated “poor farms,” “convict farms,” and “convict camps,” which were correctional facilities where convicts were required to work off their fines and debts. Most of these were not operated by the Sheriff, but by the County. Guard Earl W. Darby was supervising a work crew of inmates at the Tarrant County Convict Camp near Azle Road. He had just gotten off the water truck and was removing his coat from the truck’s seat when his pistol discharged and struck him in the abdomen. He was transported to City and County Hospital, where he passed away the next day. He was 20 years old.

Guard Darby was survived by his parents, B.F. and Mary A. Darby, as well as his siblings, Ben L., Doyle H., and William J. Darby.

Constable Robert Emmett Morison

End of Watch: November 8, 1916

Precinct 8 Constable Robert E. Morison was a popular lawman in Southeast  Tarrant County as he served as the Town Marshal of Mansfield for many years. In 1900, Constable Morison easily won the election for Constable, and on November 7, 1916 he was elected for a third term. Even at the age of 61, Constable Morison could still put up a good fight. He was a dedicated lawman and many people were afraid of him, including a bootlegger named Claude Patterson. Constable Morison had sworn to apprehend Patterson and the other local bootleggers, even if it meant killing them. On the morning of November 8, 1916, Constable Morison was sitting on a bench talking to friends when Patterson approached him with a shotgun.  Constable Morison attempted to run away from Patterson, but Patterson lifted his gun and shot Constable Morison in the back, sending him immediately to the ground. Patterson then walked into a nearby store and surrendered himself to the Town Marshal. 

Constable Morison was survived by his wife, Florence and two sons, John and Tom.

Special Deputy Hamill Poston Scott

End of Watch: May 1, 1907

Special Deputy Hamill P. Scott was born in Virginia and moved to a farm north of Fort Worth with his family in 1872. Deputy Scott initially worked for the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad, where he was involved in many gun fights with robbers and once nearly burned to death in a derailed, overturned train. Deputy Scott then served the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office for 10 years until he became a Claims Agent for the Railroad, ultimately leading to his commission as a Special Deputy by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. On Friday, March 22, 1907, Deputy Scott was working security at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show when Tarrant County attorney Jefferson McLean was shot in the throat by a man named William Thomason. A citizen recognized Deputy Scott and informed him of the direction Thomason had escaped. Without hesitation, Deputy Scott went in pursuit of the killer. Suspect Thomason saw Deputy Scott chasing after him and hid behind some packing boxes in an alley near Houston and Throckmorton Streets. As Deputy Scott entered the alley, Thomason shot him in the arm, causing Deputy Scott to drop his gun. Thomason then fired a second shot, hitting Deputy Scott in the spinal cord and paralyzing him from the chest down. Thomason then took Deputy Scott’s gun and fled the scene; he was later apprehended by other officers. Deputy Scott survived for another six weeks until he passed away on May 1, 1907. He was 42 years old. Deputy Scott was survived by his wife Margaret Campbell Scott. It was reported the citizens of Tarrant County were deeply touched by the death of Deputy Scott and closed all Tarrant County offices, as well as many businesses, to attend the large funeral in his honor.

Deputy Sheriff R.W. “Dick” Townsend

End of Watch: April 4, 1886

R.W. “Dick” Townsend was born in Kentucky and moved to Tarrant County with his parents prior to the Civil War. In 1886, a railroad strike took place in Fort Worth. It was at this time Dick Townsend was appointed Special Deputy by the Sheriff. On April 3, 1886, a group of officers attempted to escort a train out of Fort Worth. The train was heading southbound when the officers noticed four strikers tampering with a track switch. Deputy Townsend and the other officers stopped the train to arrest the strikers. It was then that the officers spotted several other strikers with rifles, hiding in a ditch. Deputy Jim “Longhair” Courtwright ordered the men to put down their weapons, and they instead opened fire on the officers. While guarding the prisoners on the train, Deputy Townsend was shot just above the heart. He emptied one pistol then crawled back to the cab of the train engine.  Deputy Townsend passed away the next day, April 4, 1886.  He was 32 years old.

Sheriff John B. York

End of Watch: August 24, 1861

John York was elected as Tarrant County’s second sheriff in 1852, and then re-elected as the fourth sheriff in 1858. During the year 1861, Tarrant County did not have a courthouse, and the Sheriff’s Office was just a small, two-room brick building. Sheriff York’s accomplishments include construction of the first Tarrant County Jail at the corner of Jones and East Belknap Streets. There are a number of accounts of Sheriff York’s death, but the most plausible stem from ongoing differences with a Dallas attorney named A.Y. Fowler.  Fowler, a heavy drinker with a volatile temper, vowed revenge on the Sheriff after he removed Fowler from a local barbecue where he was causing a disturbance.  The following day, a visibly intoxicated Fowler approached Sheriff York in town and stabbed him repeatedly as the Sheriff reached to arm himself. Assuming Sheriff York was dead, Fowler walked away, only to turn around to see Sheriff York following him with his gun drawn. Sheriff York fired a shot, hitting Fowler directly in the heart, killing him almost instantly.  At that point, Bill Fowler, A.Y.’s brother, appeared and fired a shotgun at Sheriff York, hitting him in his upper body.  Sheriff York was moved to the Andrews Hotel, where he survived until 3 p.m. the following day. He was 36 years old.

Sheriff York is the first recorded Tarrant County Peace Officer killed in the line of duty. He was survived by his pregnant wife, three sons and three daughters.