Bio & Incident Details
Age: 44
Tour: 2 years
Badge # Not available
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 3/19/1908
Weapon: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect: Shot and killed
· Leave a Reflection
· Add to My Heroes
· Update this memorial
Share this memorial:
Sheriff McCracken succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained two days earlier when he was shot as he and the Kiowa city marshal were attempting to arrest a man on a warrant for selling whiskey. The man fled into an outhouse and, as Sheriff McCracken attempted to talk him into surrendering, shot through the outhouse door. The shot struck Sheriff McCracken, mortally wounding him. The sheriff and the marshal both returned into the outhouse but did not strike the suspect.
As the suspect attempted to flee from the outhouse the marshal shot him in the leg, inflecting a serious wound. The wound developed into gangrene and he died four days later.
Sheriff McCracken had only served as Sheriff for 2 years. He was survived by his wife and eight children. His eighth child was born only two days before he was shot.
