St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Missouri
End of Watch: Friday, January 4, 1878
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Inadvertent)
Date of Incident: January 2, 1878
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Not available
Patrolman Benjamin Ayers succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound sustained when a pistol his sergeant was carrying fell to the ground and discharged at the corner of Pine Street and Ewing Avenue.
He and his sergeant were walking to the police station when they met another officer. The other officer had borrowed a pistol from a third officer and asked that the sergeant return it, as the third officer was scheduled for the next shift. The sergeant placed the pistol inside his coat pocket and, as he and Patrolman Ayers began walking again, it fell from his pocket and discharged. The round struck Patrolman Ayers through the leg and into his abdomen.
Patrolman Ayers was survived by his wife and two children.