Duluth Police Department, Minnesota
End of Watch: Thursday, August 18, 1966
Age:
Tour of Duty: 24 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 6, 1966
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Not charged with murder
Sergeant Root succumbed to wounds received when he was beaten and shot with his own weapon during a traffic stop on West Second Street. Two juvenile suspects attacked him with a jack handle and then shot him with his own weapon. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to the wounds six weeks later. Both suspects were apprehended, but because of delay in Sergeant Root's death neither was charged with murder.
Sergeant Root had been with the agency for 24 years and was survived by his wife and daughter.