Galveston County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Friday, January 2, 1931
Age: 54
Tour of Duty: 22 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 2, 1931
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced 10 years
Deputy Meyer was shot and killed while working in the Galveston County Jail. A person entered the jail, asked to see an inmate, and then pulled out a handgun and gave it to the inmate. A jail trustee began to struggle with the inmate, and the weapon discharged, striking Deputy Meyer in the stomach. The suspect, and the inmate he came to see, both escaped but were later apprehended.
On September 11, 1931, the inmates visitor, 39, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years. He was pardoned on March 22, 1934. The inmate, 25, under a 35 year sentence for armed robbery, was stabbed to death by a fellow inmate on February 12, 1933, at Huntsville Penitentiary.
Deputy Sheriff Joe Meyer, Sr. was a Galveston police officer and a detective before joining the Sheriff's Department. Deputy Meyer had been with the agency for six years and was survived by his wife and seven children.