D.C. vigil to honor fallen Oklahoma officers

The names of 13 law enforcement officers killed since 1879 while serving in what is now Oklahoma will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., next month.

In a ceremony on May 13 at the Annual Candle Light Vigil, their names will be read and dedicated.

The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial foundation will host its own memorial May 9 to honor more than 700 Oklahoma officers who haved died in the line of duty.

The memorial will be held at the memorial site, which is just west of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety headquarters, 3600 N Martin Luther King Ave.

•George M. Doolittle. While searching for a Texas murderer in Lexington, the Lampasas County, Texas, sheriff was shot and killed in January 1879. He is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave in Lexington.

•George Johnson Kirk. The Braggs officer and a colleague had caught up to a couple of train robbers when a fight broke out in June 1909. Kirk was shot in the head during the struggle.

•Richard D. Bell. The Haileyville officer was shot and killed as he entered a house on a disturbance call in October 1909.

•Thomas E. Tyus. The Creek County deputy went to serve court papers at a home in Bristow in July 1911. Nobody was home, so he fell asleep on a neighbor's porch. He was shot by a police officer called by the neighbor in an apparent misunderstanding.

•Levi A. Ezzell. This Oklahoma County deputy sheriff was killed by his own gun when he threw it at a suspect in August 1914. The gun struck the ground, firing a round into his stomach.

•Leslie Jennings. While issuing a traffic ticket in July 1924, the Muskogee police officer was struck by a passing car. He died the next day.

•Hughey L. Rogers and Luther Prince. The Ada officers went to check on an armed man in a hotel in November 1926. They ended up struggling with the man and both were shot. Rogers died instantly and Prince died a few hours later.

•Charles W. Bowman. The Muskogee police captain died in June 1927 from a severed artery, which he suffered after being shot in the leg by his own gun. A man he was arresting kicked the gun, causing it to fire.

•Louis M. Harvill and William A. Hood. The Jefferson County deputy and the Grayson Township, Texas, constable were shot as they walked between two parked cars one night in January 1928. Harvill died within one hour and Hood died five days later.

•Robert T. Blassingame. The Wister County marshal was shot on a railway platform in June 1928. He returned fire, though, killing one of the two gunmen.

•Sam H. Randolph. The Love County sheriff was in a Thackerville store campaigning for re-election in May 1934. He was approached by an angry Constable John Smith about not getting proper credit for a murder arrest. Randolph slapped the constable. The constable shot Randolph in the heart.

•Elijah C. Smith. While making his rounds, this Byars police officer came across a burglary in progress in June 1937. The burglar shot the officer with a shotgun, killing him.