Norton Police Department, Virginia
End of Watch: Sunday, July 26, 1891
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 26, 1891
Weapon Used: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect Info: Executed in 1892
Policeman Hilton was shot and killed by a man who was attempting to free a prisoner.
The officer had arrested a man for the theft of a watch and pistol. He was walking him to jail when he was confronted by one the man's friends. When Policeman Hilton refused to release the prisoner, the man suddenly produced a .38 caliber revolver and shot him. He was killed instantly.
The suspect fled Wise County and was tracked to Memphis, Tennessee, by a private detective, who arrested him. The suspect was a notorious criminal in the region and was believed to have murdered as many as two dozen men. He was returned to Virginia where he was convicted of Policeman Hilton's murder and sentenced to death. The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the conviction and the suspect was hanged at the Wise County Courthouse on September 2, 1892.
Policeman Hilton had only been appointed as a special policeman a short time before being murdered. He was survived by his wife.