Buffalo Police Department, New York
End of Watch: Thursday, January 17, 1924
Age: 63
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Assault
Date of Incident: January 15, 1924
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Executed in 1925
Patrolman William Hunt succumbed to a fractured skull when he was beaten by a subject he had arrested for suspicion of burglary.
Patrolman Hunt had arrested two subjects and stopped to use the patrol box at North Division Street and Chestnut Street. While making his call, the subject pointed his gun at Patrolman Hunt's head and fired three times, but the gun failed to discharge. The subject used the gun's handle to beat Patrolman Hunt unconscious before Patrolman Hunt could reach for his own gun. Patrolman Hunt was transported to the Emergency Hospital, where he was able to give a description of his attacker. He succumbed to his injuries two days later.
The suspect was captured later in the day and found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair on January 22, 1925.
Patrolman Hunt had sevred with the Buffalo Police Department for at least two years, assigned to the pawnshop squad. He was survived by two sons and a daughter.