Des Moines Police Department, Iowa
End of Watch: Monday, December 7, 1931
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 9 years
Badge Number: 96
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 6, 1931
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Accidentally killed himself
Sergeant James Cowart was shot and killed by a former deputy sheriff he had arrested five years earlier.
He was at home when the subject knocked on his door at 6:30 a.m. When he answered it, the subject, standing in the yard, fired multiple shots through the glass-enclosed porch, striking Sergeant Cowart in the stomach.
Arriving officers found the subject fatally wounded after his shotgun accidentally discharged as he attempted to dismantle it.
Sergeant Cowart had served with the Des Moines Police Department for nine years. He was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.