Union Pacific Railroad Police Department, Railroad Police
End of Watch: Wednesday, August 31, 1927
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 17, 1927
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Convicted
Special Agent William Sherman succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained two weeks earlier while attempting to arrest two men loitering in a freight yard in Topeka, Kansas. As he searched one of the men, the second man was able to move behind him and ordered him to raise his hands.
As Agent Sherman was turning around he was shot in the back. The men then fled the scene. A train foreman located the agent a short time later and he was taken to a local hospital. The following day he was transported to a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained until succumbing to his wounds.
The two men were apprehended the following year and convicted of Agent Sherman's murder.
Agent Sherman had previously served with the United States Marine Corps and was survived by his wife and young son.