Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, Texas
End of Watch: Thursday, February 2, 1928
Age: 26
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Inadvertent)
Date of Incident: February 2, 1928
Weapon Used: Unknown weapon
Suspect Info: Not available
Around 1:00 a.m. sixteen convicts at the Eastham State Prison in Lovelady, Houston County, Texas, escaped by cutting through a wall of the wooden building in which they were locked up for the night, using a pocket knife. During the escape Guard Deb Long was accidentally shot and killed by Guard Tom Bozeman who mistook the guard for one of the convicts in the woods where they had surrounded the escapees. Long was wearing long white trousers, similar to those issued to prisoners. By 4:00 p.m. all sixteen convicts had been captured and returned to the prison.
Deb Long was 26 years old. He was buried in the Salem Cemetery in Weldon, Houston County, Texas.