Mason County Sheriff's Office, Illinois
End of Watch: Thursday, December 13, 1894
Age: 45
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 10, 1894
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 25 years
Sheriff George Brooker succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained three days earlier while attempting to serve an arrest warrant on a man who had made threats.
The man was living in a floating cabin on Quiver Lake and had threatened the life of a farmer who owned the adjacent land. Fearing for his life, the farmer swore out a warrant for the man.
As Sheriff Brooker attempted to serve the warrant the man ordered him to stay away from the cabin. Sheriff Brooker tried to calm the man down as he advanced, but as he stepped onto the plank connecting the cabin to the shore the man fired two blasts from his double-barreled shotgun. Both blasts struck Sheriff Brooker in the abdomen, causing a fatal wound.
Sheriff Brooker's younger brother A.A. Brooker, who served as a deputy, arrested the subject and charged him with Sheriff Brooker's murder. On August 15, 1895, the suspect was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years.
Sheriff Brooker had served as sheriff for four years, from 1886-1890, and had just started the first year of his second term. He had previously served as the city marshal of Mason City and of Havana. He was survived by his wife and two grown children.