Tennessee Department of Correction, Tennessee
End of Watch: Friday, November 9, 1951
Age: 40
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: November 9, 1951
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Died in prison
Transportation Officer William Cox was shot and killed by a fugitive he was returning to Tennessee's Brushy Mountain Prison in Petros. Joe Blevins, a records clerk at the prison, who was with Officer Cox was also killed.
The 22 year-old suspect, serving a three year sentence for receiving stolen property, had escaped from the prison three weeks earlier. Two days later he was recaptured in Louisville, Kentucky.
Officer Cox and Clerk Blevins had stopped with their prisoner at a restaurant near Somerset, Kentucky, for lunch. The handcuffs were removed from the prisoner to permit him to eat. As the three were eating the suspect suddenly snatched Officer Cox's revolver from his holster and opened fire, killing Officer Cox instantly and fatally wounding Clerk Blevins. The suspect fled in Officer Cox's car and abandoned it five miles away in Shafter. The next day he walked into the Somerset Police Department and gave himself up.
The suspect was convicted of two counts of murder. He died at the Kentucky Sate Prison in Eddyville July 2, 1962.