Union County Sheriff's Office, Florida
End of Watch: Tuesday, May 23, 1961
Age: 30
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 23, 1961
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Deputy Sheriff Hal Croft and a Raiford Prison employee assisting him were shot and killed in Raiford while serving an arrest warrant on a man for firing a shotgun into an occupied dwelling.
The subject opened fire with a shotgun as they stepped onto his front porch. The man then took Deputy Croft's service revolver and shot himself in the chest. He recovered from his wounds and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
The man, 36, was convicted of both murders and sentenced to death. In 1964 he was tried again and sentenced to two life terms. On May 16, 1972, he, a prison guard, and a girlfriend, were charged with conspiracy to commit extortion when they attempted to blackmail the Union County Sheriff in an effort to get a parole. The girl tried to coax the sheriff into a lewd situation while the guard, hiding nearby, would film it. The sheriff saw through it and it backfired on the three. In 1976 his appeal for a new trial was denied.
Deputy Croft had served with the Union County Sheriff's Office for only eight months and had previously served with the Florida Highway Patrol. He was survived by his wife and child.