Patrolman Harry Dowell

Harry Dowell

Patrolman Harry Dowell and Patrolman Harold Mosbrugger were shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a man threatening his landlady.

The suspects' landlady and her son had called in the complaint when the man threatened to kill them after receiving an eviction notice. The man shot Patrolman Mosbrugger when he entered the man's room. The man then holed up in his attic and engaged in a shootout with officers.

When Patrolman Dowell arrived with the backup units, he was shot and killed while dismounting his motorcycle. The gunman had the officers' pinned, and they were unable to assist Patrolman Dowell, who lay injured in the street.

After an hour, the officers fired a machine gun from the house across the street, striking the suspect three times. The gunman retreated from the window and was later found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Patrolman Dowell was survived by his wife and three young children.