Mobile County Sheriff's Office, Alabama
End of Watch: Thursday, January 21, 1909
Age: 40
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 21, 1909
Weapon Used: Handgun; Pistol
Suspect Info: Lynched
Deputy Sheriff Philip Fatch was shot and mortally wounded and another deputy was slightly wounded in a gunfight with a man they attempted to arrest on a warrant for assault and battery.
When approached, the suspect produced a pistol and opened fire, striking Deputy Fatch in the abdomen and the other deputy in his ankle. Both deputies returned fire striking the suspect three times. Deputy Fatch succumbed to his wound later that night.
Two nights later an angry mob seized the suspect from the Mobile County Jail and hanged him from a tree at the corner of Emmanuel and Church Streets.