Superintendent Albert R. Bradley

Albert R. Bradley

Superintendent of Police Albert Bradley was shot and killed while attempting to question a suspect at a disturbance call.


Superintendent Bradley, along with James McWilliams and Houston police officer F.M. Sallee, left the police station at about 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 to investigate a report of trouble at a sporting house located on Eighth Street.

When the group arrived, a woman who was standing in the door of the house pointed toward two men who were standing on the sidewalk claiming that they were the ones responsible for the trouble. McWilliams and Bradley walked up to the pair and asked for identification. Bradley and one of the suspects began to quarrel, questioning each other’s authority. A gun battle quickly developed. McWilliams said during the scuffle, the suspect jerked away from him and shot Bradley. McWilliams then pulled his pistol and shot the suspect. Both men died just after midnight.

Port Arthur Police Chief H.F. Baker later said that the incident was the result of mistaken identity. The suspect was said to be a “special officer” of the “Texas Company, ” which is now known as Texaco. Port Arthur provided police commissions to the security staff at Texaco at the time.

Bradley died the day after he was shot. He had been with the agency for six years and was survived by his parents and ten siblings.