Honoring Our Fallen Town Marshals
We remember the 43 town marshals who made the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of our state.
Timeline of the Office of Town Marshal in Indiana
• 1853 – Incorporated towns were permitted to create the Office of Town Marshal to be elected to one-year terms
• 1901 – Terms in office were amended from one-year to two-year terms to be elected in odd-numbered years
• 1905 – Office of Town Marshal became a position to be appointed by the town board of trustees
• 1909 – Office of Town Marshal once again became a position to be elected to two-year terms
• 1917 – Office of Town Marshal once again became a position to be appointed by the town board of trustees
• 1952 – Any town having a population of more than 3,000 may submit a referendum to abolish the Office of Town Marshal and if approved by its voters, the town board of trustees, by adopting a resolution, establish a police department to be governed by a board of metropolitan police commissioners
• 1998 – Any town council may, by ordinance, abolish the Office of Town Marshal and establish a police department to be governed by a board of metropolitan police commissioners
• The town legislative body may require a town marshal to serve as street commissioner, chief of the fire department, or both
• If a town later incorporates as a city, the Office of Town Marshal is abolished and a municipal police department must be established
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Total Fallen Town Marshals – 43 Elected – 14 Military Veteran – 13 |
| By Time Period 1853-1874 – 0 1875-1899 – 5 1900-1924 – 12 1925-1949 – 10 1950-1974 – 6 1975-1999 – 6 2000-2026 – 4 |
| By Cause of Death Accidental – 1 Assault – 1 Automobile accident – 3 Duty-related illness – 1 Electrocuted – 2 Gunfire – 22 Gunfire (Accidental) – 2 Heart attack – 6 Stabbed – 1 Struck by vehicle – 2 Vehicular assault – 1 Vehicle pursuit – 1 |
| Youngest Town Marshals With Line of Duty Deaths Wolcott Town Marshal Robert Glenn Brunner, 28 Munster Town Marshal Charles Wilmer Chapman, 28 Miller Town Marshal Olaf Marinius Riser, 29 Avilla Town Marshal William Dean Miner Jr., 29 |
| Town Marshal Who Served the Shortest in Law Enforcement Wolcott Town Marshal Robert Glenn Brunner (3 weeks) |
| Oldest Town Marshals With Line of Duty Deaths Clay City Town Marshal Perry Wilson Haviland, 73 Hymera Town Marshal Francis Marion Lloyd, 71 Port Fulton Town Marshal Stephen John Miller, 70 Cambridge City Town Marshal John Mathew Ingermann, 70 |
| Town Marshal Who Served the Longest in Law Enforcement St. John Town Marshal James Edison Larimer (29 years, 6 months) |
Alexander Smith Rice
Patriot Town Marshal
Sunday, April 17, 1887
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 38 • Elected (one-year terms)
Andrew P. Dillon
Haughville Town Marshal
Saturday, June 28, 1890
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 26 • Elected (one-year terms)
James Doran †
Kentland Town Marshal
Monday, June 20, 1892
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 46 • Elected (one-year terms)
Abraham Conrad
Eugene Town Marshal
Wednesday, August 10, 1892
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Age: 45 • Elected (one-year terms)
John Lee Newkirk
Judson Town Marshal
Thursday, May 21, 1896
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 36 • Elected (one-year terms)
James Joshua Payne †
Fairmount Town Marshal
Thursday, November 26, 1903
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 56 • Elected (two-year terms)
Albert Byers Sr.
Diamond Town Marshal
Sunday, April 9, 1905
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 34 • Elected (two-year terms)
Leonard Geisler
Hagerstown Town Marshal
Monday, May 1, 1905
Cause of Death: Assault
Age: 36 • Elected (two-year terms)
Columbus Lafayette Croy
Woodburn Town Marshal
Friday, June 7, 1907
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 44 • Elected (two-year terms) – Appointed
Robert S. Walker
Montgomery Town Marshal
Tuesday, February 27, 1912
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 49 • Elected (two-year terms)
Olaf Marinius Riser
Miller Town Marshal
Friday, August 30, 1912
Cause of Death: Electrocuted
Age: 29 • Elected (two-year terms)
Robert Richardson
West College Corner Town Marshal
Sunday, March 23, 1913
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 53 • Elected (two-year terms)
Grant Ulysses McCory
Salem Town Marshal
Tuesday, August 11, 1914
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 43 • Elected (two-year terms)
John Nelson Harris †
Sellersburg Town Marshal
Saturday, January 16, 1915
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 42 • Elected (two-year terms)
William A. Lacey
Eaton Town Marshal
Tuesday, April 6, 1915
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Age: 51 • Elected (two-year terms)
Stephen John Miller
Port Fulton Town Marshal
Monday, July 22, 1918
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 70 • Appointed
Arnott Berthier Cowgill
Wolcott Town Marshal
Wednesday, August 6, 1924
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 46 • Appointed
Walter William McCallister
Dale Town Marshal
Thursday, December 24, 1925
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 46 • Appointed
John Mathew Ingermann
Cambridge City Town Marshal
Monday, August 26, 1929
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 70 • Appointed
Charles Thomas Connaughton
Montgomery Town Marshal
Thursday, May 15, 1930
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Age: 67 • Appointed
Edward Rich Cook
Culver Town Marshal
Tuesday, July 19, 1932
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental)
Age: 48 • Appointed
Ephraim V. Reid
Long Beach Chief Marshal
Friday, September 15, 1933
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Age: 53 • Appointed
John Medley Whisman †
Charlestown Town Marshal
Thursday, October 1, 1936
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 46 • Appointed
Charles Harrison Wolfe †
Orleans Town Marshal
Monday, July 11, 1938
Cause of Death: Electrocuted
Age: 42 • Appointed
William James Cox
Fairmount Town Marshal
Thursday, June 26, 1941
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Age: 56 • Appointed
Robert Glenn Brunner
Wolcott Town Marshal
Saturday, August 9, 1941
Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle
Age: 28 • Appointed
Charles Wilmer Chapman
Munster Town Marshal
Thursday, January 30, 1947
Cause of Death: Gunfire (accidental)
Age: 28 • Appointed
Ralph Fisher
New Harmony Town Marshal
Wednesday, July 13, 1955
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Age: 45 • Appointed
Earle Maitland Platt †
Long Beach Chief Marshal
Thursday, October 25, 1956
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Age: 57 • Appointed
Perry Wilson Haviland
Clay City Town Marshal
Sunday, September 17, 1967
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 73 • Appointed
Donald R. Goodwin
Fountain City Town Marshal
Sunday, June 7, 1970
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 48 • Appointed
James Edison Larimer †
St. John Town Marshal
Saturday, February 20, 1971
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 55 • Appointed
Kenneth Byron Hale Jr. †
Lizton Town Marshal
Tuesday, January 22, 1974
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Age: 30 • Appointed
Clarence Marion Kistner †
Shelburn Town Marshal
Sunday, February 11, 1979
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 43 • Appointed
Lesley Dale Oaks
Waynetown Town Marshal
Monday, May 3, 1982
Cause of Death: Vehicle pursuit
Age: 34 • Appointed
William Dean Miner Jr.
Avilla Town Marshal
Saturday, May 28, 1983
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 29 • Appointed
Bobby Ray Moore Sr. †
Fremont Town Marshal
Tuesday, July 26, 1988
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Age: 50 • Appointed
Francis Marion Lloyd †
Hymera Town Marshal
Thursday, November 24, 1994
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Age: 71 • Appointed
James Rodger Kautz †
Long Beach Chief Marshal
Thursday, December 4, 1997
Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle
Age: 55 • Appointed
Richard Mark Clapp
New Richmond Town Marshal
Friday, December 5, 2003
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Age: 45 • Appointed
Louis Dixon Beam
Cayuga Town Marshal
Monday, May 14, 2007
Cause of Death: Accidental
Age: 68 • Appointed
Anthony Wayne Hinshaw †
Losantville Town Marshal
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Cause of Death: Duty-related illness
Age: 62 • Appointed
Bradley Rydell Fisher
Lynn Town Marshal
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault
Age: 50 • Appointed
