First Sergeant Marvin Edward Walts, Indiana State Police, Indiana

First Sergeant Marvin Edward Walts

Indiana State Police, Indiana

End of Watch Monday, March 18, 1957

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Marvin Edward Walts

First Sergeant Marvin Walts was shot and killed during a traffic stop of a bank robbery suspect near the intersection of State Road 131 and State Road 62 in Clark County.

While on his day off, First Sergeant Walts had received a broadcast of an armed robbery at the Sellersburg State Bank at 1:15 pm. After stopping a vehicle about 45 minutes later, it was confirmed the driver's jacket matched the description given of the bank robbery suspect. As First Sergeant Walts returned to the stopped vehicle, the suspect shot him in the forehead, killing him instantly. A minister who was riding with the trooper was then fired upon before being able to return fire himself and killed the suspect with the trooper's shotgun.

First Sergeant Walts, who was planning to retire in six months, had served with the Indiana State Police for 19½ years and was assigned to the Charlestown post. He was survived by his wife and teenage son.

Bio

Age 47
Tour 19 years, 6 months
Badge Not available

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Shot and killed

felony stop, off duty

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Sgt. Walts was a friend of my family. We lived in several cities in southern Indiana (Speed, Charlestown, Jeffersonville) until moving to Oklahoma in 1953. I well remember my mother's reaction when she read of Sgt. Walts death in 1957. I remember Sgt. Walts coming in the restaurant my family operated in Speed.

I began a 50 year law enforcement career in 1961 and my choice of career was influenced in part by having known Sgt. Walts as a friend of my family.

I still have the newspaper clips of the tragedy and just looked at them again today.

Chief of Police-Retired
Bartlesville, OK Police Dept.

April 23, 2019