Taft Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Monday, July 13, 1953
Age: 40
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 13, 1953
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Chief of Police Wilbur Edwards was shot and killed by a subject without provocation.
He was visiting with merchants, asking them to leave their lights on at night for better protection. As he stood in the driveway of a service station he was approached by the owner and shot twice in the head and then twice in the body with a .22-caliber pistol. The subject was arrested and charged with his murder.
The 62-year-old suspect was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 1925 he was sentenced to 20 years for a murder conviction in DeQueen, Arkansas, but received a full pardon without having to serve any time.
Chief Edwards was a U.S. Army veteran of WWII. He had served with the United States Border Patrol, Brownsville Police Department and Corpus Christi Police Department before becoming the chief of the Taft Police Department. He was survived by his wife and son.