Chief of Police George S. Smiddy

George S. Smiddy

Chief of Police George Smiddy was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man who had fired several shots earlier in the evening while involved in a domestic dispute.

He requested assistance from the chief of police and an officer from the neighboring Jellico, Tennessee, Police Department. The three officers located the man at a barber shop on North Main Street, on the Kentucky side of the border, and attempted to arrest him. The man immediately opened fire, mortally wounding Chief Smiddy and seriously wounding the police chief from the Tennessee town. The suspect was killed by the return fire.

Chief Smiddy succumbed to his wounds early the next day.

Chief Smiddy had served with the Jellico Police Department for one year. He was survived by his wife and ten children.