La Salle County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Thursday, June 25, 1891
Age:
Tour of Duty: 1 day
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 25, 1891
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Two shot and killed
Posse Member Jim Cope was shot and killed in Encinal, Texas, while attempting to arrest a man who had shot at a deputy earlier in the night.
The deputy was investigating four disorderly subjects at approximately 2:00 am when one of the men fired at him. The deputy organized a posse that included Mr. Cope, another deputy, and another citizen. The posse encountered the group again at approximately 3:00 am. The posse was fired upon as they attempted to arrest the man who had shot at the deputy during the first encounter.
Mr. Cope was struck in the stomach and killed. Another civilian posse member was wounded in the leg. Two of the subjects in the group were shot and killed by the return gunfire from the posse. The other two were arrested.