Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, South Carolina
End of Watch: Friday, March 9, 1917
Age: 60
Tour of Duty: 29 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 9, 1917
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Executed in 1917
Sergeant Howard Franklin was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest an escapee wanted for breaking into a residence. The suspect had been arrested several weeks earlier for burglary and lodged in the county jail.
He was able to escape from the jail, stealing two pistols in the process. After his escape he broke into the same home he had burglarized previously, but was scared away when the owners returned.
Sergeant Franklin located the suspect in a home the following morning. As he attempted to arrest the man he was shot in the chest. He was taken to a hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, by train, where he died on the operating table later in the day.
The suspect eventually turned himself in. He was sentenced to death and executed on October 12, 1917.
Sergeant Franklin had served with the agency for 4 years and had previously served as a police officer for the Newberry Police Department for 25 years. He was survived by his wife and three children.