Officer Sidney Clarence Crews

Sidney Clarence Crews

Officer Sidney Crews succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day when he was shot by an inmate with his own service revolver inside the city jail.

He and another officer had entered a cell block in order to kill rats with rifles after receiving complaints from inmates about a rat infestation. One of the wounded rats ran underneath a table and, as Officer Crews bent down to pick it up, an inmate grabbed his service revolver and started shooting.

One bullet shattered Officer Crews' right arm and a second bullet struck his hip. A detective who was in another section of the jail shot and killed the inmate.

Officer Crews had served with the Miami Police Department for eight years and was assigned to the city jail. He was survived by his wife and seven children.