Joplin Police Department, Missouri
End of Watch: Saturday, December 31, 1904
Age:
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 31, 1904
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Paroled in 1919
Patrolman Claude Brice was shot and killed while investigating a burglary.
He had gone to a business after receiving information that a burglary was to take place that night. He observed three suspicious men and began to chase them along Main Street, two blocks from the police station. One of the men opened fire, fatally wounding him near the intersection of Main Street and Second Street.
Three men were arrested for Patrolman Brice's murder and sentenced to long prison terms. Two of the men later escaped. Patrolman Brice's killer, one of the men who escaped, had been sentenced to 40 years in prison. On February 27th, 1905, he was captured in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was granted a new trial, convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to 55 years. He was paroled in 1919.
Patrolman Brice had served with the Joplin Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and two children.