Pulaski County Sheriff's Department, Kentucky
End of Watch: Saturday, April 13, 2002
Age: 48
Tour of Duty: 28 years
Badge Number: 111
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: April 13, 2002
Weapon Used: Rifle
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Sheriff Samuel Catron was shot and killed in an assassination while leaving a political rally in Shopville, Kentucky at 1915 hours.
He has just given a campaign speech for the upcoming election in which he was running for his fifth term as sheriff. A suspect shot Sheriff Catron in the head with a high-powered rifle as he placed two cakes he had just purchased from a fundraiser into his patrol car. Sheriff Catron was wearing a vest at the time.
The suspect then attempted to flee the scene on a motorcycle but was apprehended by a deputy and a firefighter several miles away. The suspect was charged with capital murder. Two other suspects, including one of Sheriff Catron's former deputies and opponent in the election, were also charged with complicity to murder. Two of the suspects were sentenced to life in prison.
Sheriff Catron's father, Harold Catron Sr., was shot and killed in the line of duty on September 16, 1964 while serving as Chief of Police for the Somerset, Kentucky, Police Department.
Sheriff Catron had been with the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department for 28 years, and had served as sheriff since 1986. He is survived by his mother, brother, and two sisters.