Letcher County Sheriff's Office, Kentucky
End of Watch: Saturday, December 20, 1947
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: 20 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 20, 1947
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy Galloway and Deputy Willard Hall were shot and killed while attempting to serve an arrest warrant on a man at the home of another man.
As the two talked with the suspect and the homeowner, the homeowner's wife opened fire with a shotgun from behind a door killing both. When the sheriff and others arrived at the home, the woman, 46, confessed that she shot both when their conversation turned ugly, and a deputy drew his gun and grabbed her husband. She said she opened fire because she feared for his life. Both men and the woman's 16-year-old son said they did not know what happened. All four were arrested and jailed for murder.
In March of 1948, the man, 58, that the warrant was for, was rushed to a hospital after a piece of meat got stuck in his throat. The meat was successfully removed, but the stress caused him to have a heart attack, and he died an hour later. The woman's husband, 52, was convicted of two counts of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 42 years. He was paroled in May of 1954. In April of 1949, the woman, during her trial, held to her story that she killed to save her husband. Her husband and son stuck to their story that they did not know what happened. She was acquitted. Charges were dropped against her son.
Deputy Galloway had served with the Letcher County Sheriff's Office for 20 years. He was survived by his wife and two sons.