Bell County Sheriff's Department, Kentucky
End of Watch: Sunday, May 4, 1924
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 3, 1924
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Died in jail
Deputy Sheriff Andy Baird was shot and killed at a mining camp known as Kettle Island near Pineville, Kentucky.
Deputy Baird was notified after a local miner became drunk and started firing his gun randomly at nearby citizens. Deputy Baird deputized two citizens and began looking for the man.
The subject also learned that Deputy Baird was searching for him and then began looking for the deputy. The man interrupted a school board meeting before observing Deputy Baird and the two citizens from a distance. The man taunted Deputy Baird and then opened fire with a shotgun, striking him in the leg. Despite the wound, Deputy Baird returned fire but did not strike the subject, who fled.
Deputy Baird succumbed to his wound the following day.
The 38-year-old man remained at large for more than three years before being apprehended in Cincinnati and indicted for murder. The suspect died in the Bell County Jail on March 24, 1928, the day before his murder trial was to begin.
Deputy Baird was survived by his wife and two small children.