Pittsburgh Night Watch, Pennsylvania
End of Watch Thursday, April 21, 1853
Add to My HeroesSamuel H. Ferguson
Night Watchman Samuel Ferguson was stabbed to death in Butler County, Pennsylvania, while he and another officer attempted to serve a warrant on a subject wanted for stealing gas by tapping into a gas line.
The officers went to the man's home in Clearfield Township on Freeport Road to serve the warrant but were told by his wife that he was not home. Upon searching the home they located the subject and told him he was under arrest. He initially refused to be taken but then agreed and asked if he could change his shirt. The officers followed him into another room where he suddenly grabbed a bowie knife and a revolver and attacked the officers, stabbing them both several times.
Night Watchman Ferguson collapsed and died as the officers retreated to safety. The subject fled the scene but was later arrested in Buffalo, New York, and charged with murder. His wife was also arrested and charged with assisting her husband. In November 1853, the subject was found guilty of murder and his wife was acquitted during the trial.
Shortly after the trial the subject managed to escape the Butler County Jail by sawing away at the bars of a window that led to an old jail yard. The subject along with his wife who disappeared shortly afterward were never seen again.
Night Watchman Ferguson had served with the Pittsburgh Night Watch for two and a half years and was survived by his wife and 14 children.
Bio
- Age 50
- Tour 2 years, 6 months
- Badge Not available
Incident Details
- Cause Stabbed
- Weapon Edged weapon; Knife
- Offender Never captured
Most Recent Reflection
View all 6 ReflectionsNo passage of time can ever erase your service and sacrifice. Rest in peace always.
Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police (Retired)
April 21, 2021
Recent LODD Deaths

Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd
Wake County Sheriff's Office, NC
EOW: August 11, 2022

Corporal Chad M. Beattie
Washington County Sheriff's Office, PA
EOW: August 10, 2022

Deputy Sheriff Andrew Peery
El Paso County Sheriff's Office, CO
EOW: August 7, 2022

Special Police Officer Maurica Manyan
District of Columbia Public Library Office of Public Safety, DC
EOW: August 4, 2022

Sergeant Jèan-Harold Astree
Fairburn Police Department, GA
EOW: July 28, 2022

Sergeant Matthew Fishman
Wayne County Sheriff's Office, NC
EOW: August 2, 2022

Supervising Fire Marshal John Joseph "Jack" McCauley
New York City Fire Department - Bureau of Fire Investigation, NY
EOW: May 28, 2022

Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz
Elwood Police Department, IN
EOW: July 31, 2022

Deputy Sheriff II Jamie Lynn Reynolds
Spalding County Sheriff's Office, GA
EOW: July 31, 2022