Campbell County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch: Friday, April 3, 1931
Age: 48
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: April 3, 1931
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: executed in 1931
Sheriff Thomas Camp was shot and killed by a prisoner in the Campbell County Courthouse while awaiting transfer to the county jail.
The prisoner suddenly tried to run for the door but was grabbed by Sheriff Camp. A struggle ensued in which the prisoner gained control of Sheriff Camp's service revolver and then fatally shot him. The man fled into a nearby swamp where he was surrounded by a posse of citizens and captured a few hours later.
It was later discovered that the suspect had recently escaped from a Morgan County, Georgia, chain gang where he was serving a 20 year sentence for murder. He was convicted of Sheriff Camp's murder, sentenced to death, and executed in the electric chair on May 18, 1931.
Campbell County was annexed by Fulton County at the end of 1931.
Sheriff Camp was survived by his wife. Sheriff Camp's wife was appointed to serve the rest of his term as sheriff.