Town Marshal Henry Dallas Humphrey

Town Marshal Henry Dallas Humphrey

Alma Police Department, Arkansas

End of Watch Monday, June 26, 1933

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Henry Dallas Humphrey

Town Marshal Henry Humphrey was shot and killed by the notorious outlaw gang led by Bonnie and Clyde.

Marshal Humphrey was working the night shift and in the early morning house of June 22, 1933, two men captured Marshal Humphrey as he was making his rounds outside the Commercial Bank building in downtown Alma. They bound Marshal Humphrey with baling wire, stole his flashlight and pistol, and broke into the bank where they went to work securing the bank safe. Law enforcement didn’t realize until later that it was the Barrows that stole the safe.

The next day, June 23, 1933, Marshal Humphrey got a call from his office alerting him that there had been an accident on the old highway going through Alma. He was given the license number and was notified of another robbery in Fort Smith at Brown’s Grocery, and car theft. Crawford County Deputy Sheriff Ansel “Red” Salyers, a friend of Marshal Humphrey’s, offered to go with him. Due to the urgency, they took Deputy Salyers’ car.

As the Marshal and Deputy Salyers drove north on Highway 71, they passed a slower-moving blue Chevy truck driving south; seconds later a Ford Sedan sped by them, also going south. The Sedan disappeared over a hill and the officers heard a loud crash as the Sedan rammed into the back of the Chevy truck. Marshal Humphrey quickly turned around and rushed to the accident. He then realized the Sedan was the car they were looking for - it was Buck Barrow and W.D. Jones, who had robbed the store and stolen the Sedan. The gang quickly recovered from their crash and grabbed their guns as Deputy Salyers’ car approached and blocked the road.

Marshal Humphrey drew the Smith & Wesson .38 revolver he had borrowed from his brother-in-law, as his weapon had been stolen the day before, and as he appeared out the door of the vehicle, Buck Barrow shot him full in the chest with buckshot and he fell into the ditch. Two or three minutes of gunfire erupted between Deputy Salyers and the suspects before Buck’s shotgun jammed or was empty.

Deputy Salyers took this opportunity to find cover and ran toward a house nearly one hundred yards to the west of the scene. The second suspect fired at him but missed, although bullets passed through the house and barn and nearly hit a man working in a nearby strawberry field.

As Deputy Salyers re-loaded, Buck and W.D. ran to the Deputy’s car where Marshal Humphreys was still laying, grabbed the wounded Marshal’s gun, and drove away. The Marshal was taken to the hospital and on June 26, 1933, he died after having only been with the agency two months.

The two criminals were finally shot and killed in Louisiana when Texas and Louisiana task forces ambushed them.

Marshal Humphrey had been with the Alma Police Department for only two months. He was survived by his wife and three children.

He is buried in Alma City Cemetery, Alma, Arkansas. The City Complex Building in Alma has erected a plaque commemorating the Marshal for his service and sacrifice.


The Bonnie and Clyde Gang was responsible for the murder of law enforcement officers in four states - Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas - between 1932 and 1934. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow started their criminal career by robbing banks and quickly became notorious murderers wanted for the murders of nine law enforcement officers.

The two criminals were finally shot and killed in Louisiana when they were ambushed by a task force of Texas and Louisiana officers.

Bio

  • Age 51
  • Tour 2 months
  • Badge Not available

Incident Details

  • Cause Gunfire
  • Incident Date Friday, June 23, 1933
  • Weapon Gun; Unknown type
  • Offender Both shot and killed

abduction, automobile accident, foot patrol

Most Recent Reflection

View all 19 Reflections

As our great great uncle you and along with dad’s side was in law enforcement and in a time when you worked as a farmer and an officer. You instilled in me nearly 13 long years of service in law enforcement, and committing my time and energy into cold cases and missing persons cases till this day. When myself, Jared, the mayor, and the State we all worked together as a team to get this in place. I have cherished every moment, every investigative work related to your case, had the situation been different like you hadn’t been mugged the night before Mx, and then having a gun unfamiliar to you, the only other fatal flaw in which the deputy parked alongside the car he and you knew was buck Barrow, and W. D. Jones. Had the car been parked 30 feet away and at a straight on location the doors could have given some resistance to that shotgun. Not much, but the heavy steel doors and windows rolled down it would have lost enough force to possibly see you less injured. You were a strong man. Not only surviving the volley of gunfire around you after being mortally wounded in the ditch you held on long enough for our great great aunt and my second great grandma to get there. You being conscious enough to give the information that ID’d them and scared them out of this area.

It was a pleasure working with everyone on getting this done and to see it done in a way to remember the hardworking husband, father, and Alma’s first line of defense. You served your community and protected them, in a time where most departments barely had any units for their beat cops. I am hoping and praying that a permanent monument is placed at the same location in the form of rock or stone. I don’t think very many except the old mayor and old police chief knows us as the nephews who’ve fought to keep your story alive. I have a meeting with an author who’s writing a book on you, and I extend my services to Chief Pointer and the individuals who’ve got your badge, the gun that belongs to our family, and your incident file that is in the police dept archives and maybe they still have your clothes you wore that day.

Your 1st great nephew grew up with the same grandparents you and our aunt visited on Sundays, he grew up wanting to be as tough as you, except he fibbed to the US Navy, and at the time forged his birthdate in a bible and signed grandma Jewells name, he went in as a 16 year old boy and was a United States Navy Seal and had 3 tours in Vietnam protecting his men, and the other forces and retired as the highest rank and awards of any Seabee retiring after over 25 years.

Thank you, tell dad, grandma Rhoda, Grandma Jewell, dad, our great grandpa John Wiley Wilson, and Uncle Willie.

I’ll be working with the city, and state to get you a permanent marker.

Dalton Coody
Medically Retired Law Enforcement

March 20, 2024

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