Deputy Sheriff Edward Otto Hartwick

Edward Otto Hartwick

Deputy Hartwick was shot and killed when he and two other deputies went to a local farm to arrest a man for shooting two young boys, killing one. As they approached the house the man opened fire on them, striking Deputy Hartwick in the head. The suspect surrendered to a posse in Ralston, Oklahoma, but then opened fire on the posse members and severely wounded one of them, before being subdued.

The suspect, a 65 year old farmer, said he shot the boys because they were bothering him. The boys were returning a chain they had borrowed without his permission to pull their horse free from a nearby ditch he was stuck in.

The suspect pleaded self defense in all four shootings. A jury reduced his charges to manslaughter and he was given a four year sentence. After serving nine months he was granted a leave of absence. He was pardoned by Governor William H. Murray in September of 1934. On September 20, 1937, he shot and killed a neighbor near Pawnee following an argument. Five weeks later he was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life.

Deputy Hartwick had been with the agency for five years and was survived by his wife and seven children.