Deputy Sheriff David Eugene Beck, Mobile County Sheriff's Office, Alabama

Deputy Sheriff David Eugene Beck

Mobile County Sheriff's Office, Alabama

End of Watch Monday, November 17, 1975

David Eugene Beck

Deputy Sheriff David Beck and Deputy Sheriff Robert Stolz were shot and killed while searching a wooded area for two men who had fired a load of buckshot at another deputy during a traffic stop earlier in the day. Both deputies, caught in a merciless crossfire, managed to empty their revolvers killing one suspect.

The second 22-year-old suspect was apprehended and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. In 1989 and again in 1992 he received new trials and was sentenced to life each time. He has a parole hearing March 1, 2019.

Deputy Beck had served with the Mobile County Sheriff's Department for six years. He was survived by his wife and daughter.

Bio

Age 31
Tour 6 years
Badge Not available

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Weapon Shotgun
Offender One sentenced to life; One shot and kill

Most Recent Reflection

View all 15 Reflections

I was a 24 year old cub reporter , employed by WALA TV, on that fateful day. My colleague and I were listening to the police scanner, as we were driving around Mobile, when we heard that officers Beck and Stolz were chasing two suspects in an armed robbery who had shot up the front end of a deputies car as he pursued them towards the Mississippi State line.
My colleague and I were able to catch up to officers Beck and Stolz after they cornered the suspects in a wooded area near the Mississippi state line.. out past Mobile airport. We were getting ready to follow the officers into the woods, when they told us to stay back... because the suspects were armed and dangerous. I am now 67 years old and retired. Until this day, I often think about officers Beck and Stolz. I am thankful for their courage and commitment to serve and protect the citizens of Mobile. My colleague and I owe them both a debt of gratitude for saving our lives. Had they not told us to stay back, we too would have been caught in the hail of gunfire from the two armed robbers.
God bless them both,
Norman Robinson

Norman Robinson
WDSU TV New Orleans/ Retired

June 1, 2018