Routine Task for Bossier Deputy Takes Tragic Turn

The March, 1954 issue of Louisiana Peace Officer, the journal of the Louisiana Peace Officers Association, contains an article paying tribute to two local lawmen killed in the line of duty only a month earlier. The author of the article writes, “… Louisiana law enforcement has suffered its worst blow in the memory of its oldest officers.” That “worst blow” left the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department and the Shreveport Police Department each asking, “why?” It also underscored how, for those of the thin blue line, even a routine assignment can turn deadly.

On the afternoon of February 27, no one could have foreseen the tragedy that was about to unfold. Bossier Deputy Maurice Miller, a 42-year-old World War II veteran, went to serve a warrant, which was a task that he had performed thousands of times during his career, according to the journal article. And he was serving it on someone he knew, a farmhand named Ed “Man” West. The Bossier City Planter’s Press newspaper stated in its March 4, 1954 issue that Miller “had reportedly befriended Man West. …West had been in trouble with the law on a number of occasions and each time he came to Miller for advice and help.” The paper quotes Bossier officers as saying Miller “had no reason to believe that West would try to harm him.”

At approximately 2 p.m., Deputy Miller arrived at the home of Hattie London, West’s mother, on the plantation of Leonard Woodruff just south of Taylortown on Highway 71. The 36-year-old West was staying with her and being served for non-support of his family. After Miller stepped inside, the apparent friendly relations between he and West suddenly turned violent. According to the March 4 edition of the Bossier Banner Progress, West shot Miller and then struck him in the head with an ax. Miller was mortally wounded. The newspaper states that Ms. London ran from the house screaming. Woodruff, hearing her cries and seeing Miller’s patrol unit parked in front of the house, immediately called police.

An estimated 50 officers arrived on scene, including members of the state police. Attempts to talk West into surrendering were ineffective. He fired on officers who initially were hesitant to return fire for fear of hitting Miller who they thought might still be alive. West refused to come out. An article in the 1994 winter issue of the North Louisiana Historical Association Journal details what happened next: “Officers attempted to drive West out with tear gas bombs. …the effort was unsuccessful because a strong west wind dispersed the tear gas…” Another approach was then tried. The article states that Ms. London entered the house at the request of police to convince her son to give himself up, but that too failed. She was able to bring out two rifles and a pistol, although West was still armed with a shotgun. And she told police she believed Miller was dead.

With a large crowd of onlookers gathered near the house, Shreveport Police Chief  Edward G. Huckabay arrived with a fresh supply of tear gas. At 47, he had been with the Shreveport Police Department for 17 years, signing on as a patrolman and then becoming chief in 1946, according to the Louisiana Peace Officer journal. The additional tear gas was fired into the house, but still West remained inside. It was then that Chief Huckabay made a fateful decision.

Trying to put an end to the confrontation, Huckabay decided to enter the house. The Shreveport Times of February 28, 1954 states that Bossier Parish Sheriff Willie Waggonner said the decision to go in was made because officers thought West was either dead, or if alive, incapacitated. Followed by several other officers, Huckabay cautiously stepped inside. The Shreveport Times article states that the remaining tear gas and dark interior coupled with smoke from a fire ignited in a bedroom by a tear gas canister made spotting West very difficult.

Still in possession of his shotgun, West fired at Huckabay, hitting him in the neck and chest. The other officers returned fire, striking and killing West. The bodies of Miller and West were removed from the house, while Huckabay was rushed to the hospital. He died en route. The fire in the bedroom quickly spread, engulfing the house. Approximately three hours had passed since Deputy Miller had arrived to serve the warrant. And the question of why a routine assignment turned deadly is still being asked today.

If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

Images:

• Bossier Sheriff's Deputy Maurice Miller
• Shreveport Police Chief E.G. Huckabay, in front, enters house followed by other officers/photo by J. Frank McAneny
• Shreveport Police Chief E.G. Huckabay
• House erupts in flames/photo by J. Frank McAneny

Article by: Kevin Flowers

Routine Task for Deputy Turns Tragic at Bossier Parish Plantation

 The March, 1954 issue of Louisiana Peace Officer, the journal of the Louisiana Peace Officers Association, contains an article paying tribute to two local men killed in the line of duty. The author of the article writes, “… Louisiana law enforcement has suffered its worst blow in the memory of its oldest officers.” That “worst blow” left the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department and the Shreveport Police Department each asking, “why?” It also underscored how, for those of the thin blue line, even a routine assignment can turn deadly.

Only a month earlier, on the afternoon of February 27th, no one could have foreseen the tragedy that was about to unfold. Bossier Deputy Maurice Miller, a 42-year-old World War II veteran, went to serve a warrant, which was a task that he had performed thousands of times during his career, according to the journal article. And he was serving it on someone he knew, a farmhand named Ed “Man” West. The Bossier Planter’s Press newspaper stated in an account at the time that Miller “had reportedly befriended Man West. …West had been in trouble with the law on a number of occasions and each time he came to Miller for advice and help.” The paper quotes Bossier officers as saying Miller “had no reason to believe that West would try to harm him.”

At approximately 2 p.m., Deputy Miller arrived at the home of Hattie London, West’s mother, on the plantation of Leonard Woodruff just south of Taylortown on Highway 71. The 36-year-old West was staying with her and being served for non-support of his family. After Miller stepped inside, the apparent friendly relations between he and West suddenly turned violent. According to the Bossier Banner Progress, West shot Miller and then struck him in the head with an ax. Miller was mortally wounded. The paper states that Ms. London ran from the house screaming. Woodruff, hearing her cries and seeing Miller’s patrol unit parked in front of the house, immediately called police.

An estimated 50 officers arrived on scene, including members of the state police. Attempts to talk West into surrendering were futile. He fired on officers who initially were hesitant to return fire for fear of hitting Miller who they thought might still be alive. West refused to come out. An article in the 1994 winter issue of the North Louisiana Historical Association Journal details what happened next. “Officers attempted to drive West out with tear gas bombs. …the effort was unsuccessful because a strong west wind dispersed the tear gas…” Another approach was then tried. The article states that Ms. London entered the house at the request of police to convince her son to give himself up, but that too failed. She was able to bring out two rifles and a pistol, although West was still armed with a shotgun. And she told police she believed Miller was dead.

With a large crowd of onlookers gathered near the house, Shreveport Police Chief Edward G. Huckabay arrived with a fresh supply of tear gas. At 47, he had been with the Shreveport Police Department for 17 years, signing on as a patrolman and then becoming chief in 1946, according to the Louisiana Peace Officer journal. The additional gas was fired into the house, but still West remained inside. It was then that Chief Huckabay made a fateful decision.

Trying to put an end to the confrontation, Huckabay decided to enter the house. A report in The Times the next day states that Bossier Parish Sheriff Willie Waggonner said the decision to go in was made “because it was thought that West was dead or unable to resist further.” Followed by several other officers, Huckabay cautiously stepped inside. The report states the remaining tear gas and dark interior coupled with smoke from a fire ignited in a bedroom by a tear gas canister made spotting West very difficult.

Still in possession of his shotgun, West fired at Huckabay, hitting him in the neck and chest. The other officers returned fire, striking and killing West. The bodies of Miller and West were removed from the house, while Huckabay was rushed to the hospital. He died en route. The fire in the bedroom quickly spread, engulfing the house. Approximately three hours had passed since Deputy Miller had arrived to serve the warrant.

If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/

Photos:

• Bossier Sheriff's Deputy Maurice Miller/ 28 Feb 1954 The Shreveport Times
• Shreveport Police Chief E.G. Huckabay, in front, enters house followed by other officers/photo by J. Frank McAneny.
• Shreveport Police Chief E.G. Huckabay./28 Feb 1954 The Shreveport Times
• House erupts in flames/photo by J. Frank McAneny

Article by: Kevin Flowers

Fallen Peace Officers of Bossier Parish

On Oct. 1, 1961, Congress authorized President John F. Kennedy to designate May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which it falls, as National Police Week. Then, in 1962, President Kennedy made the proclamation setting this week aside to honor and remember local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

Bossier Parish was established in 1843, and throughout its history, there have been six officers killed in the line of duty. The first recorded death of an on-duty officer was in 1905, when Constable and Deputy Sheriff Thomas William Isaac Heath drowned in Bodcau Bayou, at Calico crossing on his way to serve papers on Thur., Oct. 5, 1905. The bayou was about 12 feet deep, and it was reported that an eyewitness, who was fishing some distance from where he was crossing, stated that he saw him fall from his horse. Heath was 43 years old.

Twenty years later, Officer Neil Yarborough became the first State Highway Officer to be killed in the line of duty. He was an officer with the Louisiana Highway Commission, which emerged as the Louisiana State Police in 1936. He was stationed at what is now known as Louisiana State Police Troop G here in Bossier City.

On Jan. 25, 1925, Officer Yarborough was assisting with the arrest of a fugitive in Bossier Parish when he was shot and killed. At the time of his death, Officer Yarborough was 32 years old and had been a State Highway Officer for just three months, and was a former deputy sheriff in Bossier Parish.

Yarborough was a native of Bossier City, and his son Col. Neill A. Yarborough, who was only ten years old when he lost his father, authored the book History of Bossier City, Louisiana From the Early Years (1833-2006). His book is available for checking out at any Bossier Parish Library (once open back to the public), and copies are available for purchase at the BPL History Center.

The second Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Officer killed while on duty was Deputy Sheriff Maurice M. Miller. He was shot and killed on Sat., Feb. 27, 1954, after four years on the job, he was 45 years old. Miller’s career in law enforcement began in 1941 when he joined the Louisiana State Police. Two years later, he found himself serving in the Army as a military policeman during WWII. Jan. 9, 1946, Miller joined the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office. Miller was the last officer of the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office to be killed in the line of duty.


The Bossier City Police Department was formed in 1949 and has lost three officers while on duty. First was 23-year-old Patrol Officer Kenneth F. Roy, whose watch ended on Sun., Jul. 12, 1970, when he was killed in an auto accident while responding to a call. Officer Roy had been on the job for two and one-half years.


The second was Patrol Officer Clyde Warren “Hoppy” Pearson, who was only 22-years-old and had been on the job for fourteen months when he was shot and killed on Sun., Dec. 17, 1972. He had been a Bossier City resident for nine years.

The last officer to die in the line of duty was 27-year-old Patrol Officer Trey Michael Hutchison, who met his untimely death on Wed., Aug. 1, 2004, only 11 months after joining the department. He began his career in law enforcement with the Lufkin Texas Police Dept., and after five- and one-half years there, he returned home to work for the Bossier City Police Dept. Working in law enforcement was a lifelong dream, and there was nothing he wanted more than to come home and work as a Bossier City Police Officer.

Vivian Eney Cross, the surviving spouse of the first line of duty fatality of a U.S. Capitol
Police Officer, proclaimed that “it’s not how these officers died that made them heroes, it’s how
they lived.”

While the BPL History Center is closed during the pandemic, our staff members are still
available to answer any research questions you may have. What do you want to know about
Bossier Parish History? Email history-center@bossierlibrary.org or call us at 318-746-7717.

By: Amy Robertson