Brazoria County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Wednesday, September 15, 1920
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: September 15, 1920
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Lynched by an angry mob
Sheriff Joe Snow was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a horse thief.
Sheriff Snow had been to the suspect’s farm the day before the incident to investigate a fire. While there he noticed a saddle and some horses that had been stolen from his farm a few days earlier. The next day Sheriff Snow returned to arrest the suspect, when the suspect killed him with a shotgun at close range. The suspect was arrested and taken to jail but before he could stand trial, an angry mob lynched him from a tree in front of the jailhouse.
Sheriff Snow had been sheriff of the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office for two years. He was survived by his wife and is buried in Angleton Cemetery, Angleton, Brazoria County, Texas.