Chief investigates only officer killed on duty
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The case involves City Marshal George Greer, who on March 27, 1904 became the one and only Bloomfield police officer ever to be killed in the line of duty.
"I've always had a major interest in history, and coming to Bloomfield was no exception," Curtman said Monday.
Every morning, Chief Curtman receives an e-mail from a national organization telling the names of officers throughout the country who have been killed in the line of duty.
"It just got me to thinking," he said. "Wouldn't it be a crying shame if an officer in Bloomfield had been killed and just gotten lost in history?"
Well, that turned out to be exactly what had happened.
Following is a portion of an account of the incident as it was published in the Bloomfield Vindicator in April 1904:
Jones kills Geo. Greer, City Marshal
A terrible tragedy took place in Bloomfield Sunday evening at about 9 o'clock. The immediate cause of the trouble was whiskey. Jim Jones was drunk and was around on the streets asking for Ezera Boyles, declaring he was going to whip him. He finally came upon Boyles in the Indian restaurant and undertook to make good his threats, but Boyles proved the best man.
The disturbance attracted George Greer, the Marshal, and Henry Bolin, the nightwatch, who took Jones from the place and put him in the calaboose.
Jones was afterwards released on bond after promising that he would go home and behave. After being released he was not disposed to go home and remonstrated, with his brother Aud, who had been instrumental in securing his release and refused to go.
The Marshal then insisted on him going and it was only a rough threat that he would put him back in the calaboose. Jones finally left after saying that he had been done wrong.
Jones went to Ike Glenn's home (598 S. Prairie) pretending to go duck hunting and got his shotgun. Then he went to the livery stable (SW corner of prairie and Center St.'s) and hid in a covered hack to shoot Greer as he came around the Crosse and McDavid building going home.
Greer, Bolin and three men were standing on the sidewalk on the east side of the building about 60 feet from the hack. The gun was cocked and in trying to get into the hack it shot through the roof, attracting the men's attention. Greer the tried to arrest him and he refused and the Marshal and deputy shot at him and Jones ran home.
Reloading, Greer and Bolin went to his home and were me by Wash Jones and his wife and parents and begged the Marshal not to shoot Jim as he had no shells. Greer assured him he wouldn't shoot Jim and called for him to come out and he refused. Greer forced the door and as he entered was shot in the right breast. Greer shot his pistol and missed and Bolin called and asked if he was shot and Greer said, "He has killed me" and dropped dead a few steps from the house.
Bolin went to the door and Jim's gun was leveled at him but he knocked the muzzle up and the shot went over his head. He then shot Jones in the right arm and tried to fire again but received a blow and shove from behind by Wash Jones. He then covered Wash with the pistol who threw up his arms and went away from the gun Jim had thrown on the floor. Bolin then arrested Jim. As Jim passed Greer's body he became a demon and wanted to stomp his face as he cursed.
Greer was buried in Walker Cemetery. He leaves behind his wife and two small children and four older children by a former wife.
Curtman said that following more investigation, he determined that Jones was sentenced to 20 years in prison and died before he had served his entire sentence.
He is now working towards getting a monument to honor Greer secured that could be placed next year, tentatively on the 105th anniversary of his death.
Thanks to Curtman, Greer will soon have his name engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington, D.C..
"I've filed the paperwork with the organization and they've said it would probably be December before his name is on the memorial," he said.
Curtman urges anyone with information about the incident or who might know of any descendants to contact him at 568-3576.
For more information on Marshal George Greer's death, visit http://www.odmp.org and search his name.
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