Ellsworth County Sheriff's Department, Kansas
End of Watch: Monday, August 18, 1873
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 15, 1873
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Acquitted
Sheriff Chancey Whitney was accidentally shot and killed.
After breaking up a fight in a local saloon involving another officer, Sheriff Whitney, and two civilians, exited the saloon and were walking down the street when the other officer involved in the fight ran into the street and began firing his gun. As Sheriff Whitney turned to answer the gunfire, one of the civilian's shotguns discharged and struck Sheriff Whitney in the chest. He died three days later.
The officer who started the disturbance was later fired, re-hired, fired again, and killed on October 16, 1877. The civilian suspect was also involved in three other killings and wounding a man; it is unknown if he was either acquitted or never tried. The civilian suspect died on September 6, 1897, of natural causes.
Sheriff Whitney was a United States Army Scout during the Indian Wars and had served with the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Department for three years. He was survived by his wife and daughter.
He is buried in Ellsworth Cemetery, Ellsworth, Kansas.