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Lieutenant Samual W. Gibbs | Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee
Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee

Lieutenant

Samual W. Gibbs

Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee

End of Watch: Thursday, August 11, 1966

Biographical Info

Age: 49
Tour of Duty: 20 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 11, 1966
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Released in 2001

Lieutenant Gibbs was shot and killed with his own weapon in Shelbyville, Tennessee, by a jail escapee. While arresting the suspect, the man was able to gain control of his .38 caliber service revolver and shot him. A Shelbyville police officer was also shot and wounded as well as the suspect who was shot in the leg.

The 24-year-old suspect, who escaped from the Bedford County Jail where he was booked for armed robbery, was arrested and sentenced to 55 years in prison. He escaped in 1973 and captured two days later. He escaped again in 1982 and captured two weeks later in Hobart, Indiana. He escaped a third time in 1993 and was arrested two months later in Knoxville for burglary. He was released in 2001.