Pennsylvania State Constable - Mercer County, Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Saturday, December 28, 1940
Age: 68
Tour of Duty: 8 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Assault
Date of Incident: December 28, 1940
Weapon Used: Edged weapon; Axe
Suspect Info: Committed suicide
Constable Lester Lanning and the justice of the peace were killed when they were struck in the back of the head with an axe while searching for a mentally disturbed man. The man then shot and killed himself. The man attacked them in the cellar of a house on the Greenville-Jamestown Road.
Constable Lanning had served with the Pennsylvania State Constable - Mercer County eight ears. He was survived by his wife and child. Hehad just been elected to his third term as Constable for Greenville.