Danville Sheriff's Office, Virginia
End of Watch: Saturday, March 7, 1896
Age: 54
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 7, 1896
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Committed suicide
Deputy Sergeant William Cook was shot and killed by a prisoner who was attempting to escape from the city jail at the intersection of Court Street and Patton Street, where the Municipal Building currently stands.
The prisoner, who had just been sentenced to the penitentiary for burglary, had obtained a pistol that had been smuggled into the jail by a female acquaintance. He shot Deputy Sergeant Cook three times and then fled from the jail.
The man committed suicide the following day after being surrounded by a posse inside a home on Washington Street. The woman who smuggled the gun to the prisoner was convicted of being an accessory before the fact and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Deputy Sergeant Cook was murdered four days before his 55th birthday. He was survived by his wife and daughter.