Deputy Sheriff Claude Thomas Spangler

Claude Thomas Spangler

Deputy Claude Spangler was shot and killed at Gary, West Virginia, while attempting to arrest a man who had been involved in a hit-and-run involving two children at Hemphill.

After striking the children the driver fled. The Hemphill police chief called ahead to Deputy Spangler to intercept the driver in Gary. When the man arrived in Gary he stopped to speak to a friend, just as Deputy Spangler located him.

As Deputy Spangler approached the subject the man started shooting at him, striking him once in the abdomen and once in the leg. Another deputy returned fire, killing the subject.

Deputy Spangler was survived by his wife, son, mother, and ten siblings. He was buried in Christiansburg, Virginia.