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Deputy Sheriff Earl M. Taylor | Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee
Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee

Deputy Sheriff

Earl M. Taylor

Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee

End of Watch: Wednesday, May 25, 1966

Biographical Info

Age: 41
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 25, 1966
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Committed

Deputy Taylor was shot and killed while delivering a death notice to a home on Ballplay Road. The occupant of the home was mentally disturbed and believed that the deputy was there to take him to the hospital. The suspect opened fire on Deputy Taylor, killing him.

The 27-year-old suspect was sent to Central Mental Hospital in Nashville. On February 22, 1967, he and two other mental patients escaped, stole a car in the hospital parking lot, and fled. He was captured in Tellico Plains a month later.