Emergency Patrolman Presley Thornton Fleet

Presley Thornton Fleet

Emergency Patrolman P.T. Fleet was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a suspect at Carolina Avenue and Kansas Street.

He and three other officers were sent to a home at 675 Kansas Street to arrest a man who had shot and killed his wife earlier in the day. When they arrived the suspect fled out the back door, and the officers pursued him into the nearby Frisco Railroad yards.

The officers spread out and began to search for the suspect. As Patrolman Fleet came around the corner of a boxcar he met the suspect face to face. The suspect fired, hitting Patrolman Fleet in the chest. As the suspect fired the fatal shots at Patrolman Fleet, Patrolman W.R. Bridges rounded the corner and emptied his gun into the suspect, killing him. Patrolman Fleet was rushed to Saint Joseph's Hospital but died en route.

Patrolman Bridges was shot and killed in the line of duty seven years later while attempting to make an arrest.

Patrolman Fleet served with the Memphis Police Department for less than two years.