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Chief of Police Ray E. Curwood | Shickshinny Borough Police Department, Pennsylvania
Shickshinny Borough Police Department, Pennsylvania

Chief of Police

Ray E. Curwood

Shickshinny Borough Police Department, Pennsylvania

End of Watch: Monday, February 18, 1918

Biographical Info

Age: 27
Tour of Duty: 7 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: February 5, 1918
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Died in jail

Chief of Police Ray Curwood succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained six days earlier while attempting to disarm a man at the Mountain Inn Hotel on Union Street in Shickshinny.

At 6:30 pm, Chief Curwood went to arrest the subject for making threats toward his family members with a gun the man had just purchased. As soon as he approached the subject, Chief Curwood was shot twice in the abdomen. He was transported to Nanticoke State Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.

The 34-year-old suspect was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On October 16, 1918, he died in the Luzerne County Jail of tuberculosis.

Chief Curwood had served with the Shickshinny Borough Police Department for seven years. He was survived by his wife and two children.