United States Department of the Treasury - Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Tuesday, December 19, 1967
Age: 23
Tour of Duty: 1 year, 3 months
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 19, 1967
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Died in prison
Special Agent Mansel Burrell was shot and killed by drug traffickers while working an undercover heroin investigation in Gary, Indiana.
At 8:30 pm, another agent and two Gary police officers observed Agent Burrell enter the suspect's apartment. About 45 minutes later, Agent Burrell left the premises in his government-issued vehicle with the suspect and a male subject following in their vehicle. The other agent followed both vehicles, lost them in traffic, but found Agent Burrell's vehicle parked in an alley near the suspect's apartment 15 minutes later.
After surveilling Agent Burrell's vehicle for two hours, the other subject was observed entering the vehicle and drive away. Within blocks, the car was stopped and while searching the subject, marked currency was found that had been carried by Agent Burrell. The suspect was arrested, taken to the Gary police station and, after over four hours, told officers interrogating him that the other suspect shot Agent Burrell four times in the head in a wooded area of Gary, before dumping his body in Illinois.
Agent Burrell's body was found, at 7:55 am, in a cornfield one-half mile south of U.S. 30 in Bloom Township in Cook County, after the suspect agreed to direct officers to the location. The shooter pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, where he later died. The other suspect, a half-brother to the shooter, was convicted of second-degree murder, but on appeal his conviction was reversed.
Agent Burrell had served with the Bureau of Narcotics for 15 months and was assigned to the Chicago Division. He was the youngest federal narcotics agent to be killed in the line of duty. Agent Burrell was survived by his parents, brother and sister.