Walker County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch: Saturday, May 28, 1921
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 28, 1921
Weapon Used: Handgun; Revolver
Suspect Info: Sentenced to Life
Sheriff Albert Catron was fatally shot as he and his deputies patrolled Lookout Mountain in the early morning hours. Sheriff Catron noticed a car parked on the side of the road with three men crouched around it. Suspecting that the men were involved in the transport of moonshine, the Sheriff approached to question them. The Sheriff and his deputies saw that the men were in possession of forty gallons of whiskey and attempted to place them under arrest. Two of the suspects fled with three deputies in pursuit, and the final suspect ordered the Sheriff and his remaining deputy not to approach. When the deputy drew his weapon and ordered the suspect to surrender, the suspect drew a revolver and fired, striking the deputy once and Sheriff Catron four times. He then fled the scene.
Sheriff Catron was rushed to a Chatanooga, TN hospital for treatment, but he succumbed to his wounds 16 hours later.
Posses scoured the area for the escaped suspect, who turned himself in several days later. The suspect initially claimed that he had been visiting a sick relative at the time of the killing, but he was convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. Shortly before his execution was scheduled to take place, he won a new trial by claiming that he had been unaware that Sheriff Catron was an officer of the law and that he had fired on the Sheriff and his deputy because he thought they were robbing him. He was again convicted of murder, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison.
Before serving as Sheriff of Walker County, Sheriff Catron had served as warden in a Walker County convict camp. He was survived by his wife and four children, and he is buried in La Fayette, GA.