Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department, Wyoming
End of Watch: Friday, March 4, 1955
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 4, 1955
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Deputy Sheriff Edward Phillips was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a murder suspect in the Green River rail yards.
Deputy Phillips was the second victim of the suspect, who early Friday had shot and killed an auto dealer and wounded a Frontier town marshal. As Deputy Phillips and nine other law officers were searching the Green River railroad yards he spotted a man on the railroad platform and instructed him to halt. Instead the man ran behind a railroad car as Deputy Phillips and another Deputy, Deputy Babel, ran after him.
The suspect then fired on the two Deputies. Deputy Phillips was struck under the arm by a bullet, which lodged near the spine. He was taken to Sweetwater County Memorial hospital in Rock Springs and underwent two operations. Deputy Phillips died early Saturday morning.
The suspect, who ran from the railroad yards into the south Green River residential district, was killed by a Union Pacific Railroad special agent in a home where he had taken refuge. It was later learned that the shooter was an ex-convict who had been hiding at a ranch under an alias for a year.
Deputy Phillips had previously served with the United States Navy. He was survived by his wife and three children, the youngest born after he was killed.