Mackinaw Police Department, Illinois
End of Watch: Sunday, January 27, 1957
Age: 63
Tour of Duty: 20 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 27, 1957
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Paroled in 1965
Marshal Charles Norris was shot and killed in the Mackinaw police station.
Marshal Norris had interrupted the burglary of a hardware store across the street from the police station and arrested two suspects. He took them back to the police station, at which point he was overpowered and shot with his own service weapon.
The suspects fled the scene with Marshal Norris' service weapon and several other firearms stolen from the hardware store.
The suspects were eventually apprehended, along with a third man who drove the getaway car. The suspect who shot Marshall Norris was sentenced to 45 years in prison. The other suspect was sentenced to 14 years on September 25, 1957. The driver was sentenced to one year to life for burglary.
The suspect who shot Marshal Norris was paroled on November 10, 1965. In 1972 he was arrested for aggravated assault after he beat Marshal Noris' wife and threatened her and her daughter with a gun.
Marshal Norris was a United States Army World War I veteran and had served with the Mackinaw Police Department for 20 years. He was survived by his mother, wife, and daughter.