Muskogee Police Department, Oklahoma
End of Watch: Sunday, December 26, 1915
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 26, 1915
Weapon Used: Handgun; Revolver
Suspect Info: Executed in 1917
Police Officer Sam Neal was shot and killed while confronting a suspicious person while on night patrol.
He observed the man carrying a large bag. When he approached the man and asked him what was in the bag the man whipped out a revolver and shot him in the right arm. Unable to use his gun Officer Neal grappled with the suspect. During the struggle, Officer Neal was shot in the head. He lived long enough to tell other officers who his assailant was and also described another man who was with him. It was later discovered that the two had burglarized a nearby business.
Both suspects were captured a few hours later on a train near Porum. The suspect who killed Officer Neal was convicted of his murder and executed in the electric chair on April 13th, 1917.
Officer Neal had served with the Muskogee Police Department for three years and had previously served as a Justice of the Peace for the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. He was survived by his wife and three children and is buried at Greenhill Cemetery in Muskogee, Oklahoma.