OFFICER WILLIAM D. MITCHELL

End of Watch: Saturday, October 27, 1900

Officer William Davis Mitchell, 36, was shot and killed after being dispatched to a disturbance at a local saloon.

Officer Mitchell had just gotten off duty, but volunteered to respond to a call about a disturbance at Puss Hannah's Chili Parlor on N. 6th Street near Austin Avenue. Officer Mitchell galloped to the scene on his horse.

When he arrived at the scene, Will King exited the parlor with a gun in his hand. King shot Mitchell as Mitchell dismounted. Although Mitchell then returned fire from his revolver, he had been fatally shot by King. With his wife and three daughters at his side, Officer Mitchell died at 9 p.m. that evening. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

Will King was arrested a short time later and was executed one year later.

Officer Mitchell had been with the agency for six months. He was survived by his wife and three children. Back to memorial page

OFFICER ALPHEUS D. NEILL

End of Watch: Tuesday, February 6, 1877

Officer Neill, 50, was shot and killed when he responded to a disturbance where a man was threatening to kill his wife and her father. As Officer Neill came onto the property, the suspect shot him.

Officer Neill had been with the agency for one year and was survived by his wife and three children. Back to memorial page

CITY MARSHAL LABEN JOHN HOFFMAN

End of Watch: January 6, 1871

L. J. Hoffman had been a private in the Texas State Police in 1870 and was assigned to McLennan-Hill county area. He resigned on September 5, 1870, when he qualified as the City Marshal of Waco.

Around noon City Marshal Hoffman was in a barber shop on the southwest corner of the Square and Second Street getting a shave. A man, later identified as "Wild George" Thomason (name also reported as Williams), rode up on horseback, dismounted and entered the barber shop from the rear. He examined the lathered face of the marshal to make sure it was Hoffman. He walked behind the barber chair and shot the marshal in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The man remounted and fired two shots at approaching policemen. As the man galloped to the bridge he tossed the toll collector a dollar and said, "Haven't time to wait for the change," and sped away.

It was reported that "Wild George" ran a gang of outlaws and that he killed Marshal Hoffman in retailiation for arrests of some of his gang members.

Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis posted a $1,000 reward for the delivery of the body, dead or alive, of the murderer of Hoffman to the sheriff of McLennan County. The Adjutant General of the State Police reported in June 1871 that Thomason was mortally wounded by state policemen, but escaped. Since "Wild George" was not expected to survive, Marshall Hoffman's widow was informed that he would not be apprehended and brought to justice for the murder of her husband. It is unknown if Thomason died from his wounds.

Hoffman was born around 1840 in North Carolina. He served in the Confederate Military for approximately three years. He was survived by his wife, Virginia, and two children, Ephriam, 8, and Beulah, 11 months. His place of burial has not been located. Back to memorial page