Texas - Fallen Officers Honored
By Josh Edwards, The Paris News, 10/31/06
Paris, Texas - Ask almost anyone in Paris what they think about the police department recently honoring officer William “Will” Albright, and they'll just scratch their head and wonder who the mysterious lawman is.
Albright, who was killed in 1874, is the 10th Lamar County peace officer to be recognized for losing his life in the line of duty. Information about Albright has been sent to police organizations in Austin and to National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC.
The officer was attempting to arrest 20-year-old Sam Provine and a man known only as McMiller at a house of “ill fame” when he was shot, according to an 1874 edition of North Texas Enterprise in Bonham. During the arrest attempt, the two men shot Albright in the neck, and he died.
Provine and McMiller were arrested and held for examination. No records have been found that show the final disposition of the case. It is possible that they were destroyed in a fire at Lamar County Courthouse.
Albright was survived by a wife and two children. His burial location is unknown.
The lawman's death was discovered by retired Dallas County Sheriff's Office Assistant Chief Deputy Terry Baker. It was Baker who previously discovered eight other Lamar County officers killed in the line of duty. The ninth officer, David Roberts, was killed in 1985, and no research was needed.
Other officers killed on the job include:
Matt Green, March 1, 1867; Lamar County Sheriff's Department;
James H. Black, Nov. 16, 1884, sheriff-elect;
Henry Clay Davis, Dec. 27, 1885, LCSD;
Ben. J. Hill, Oct. 19, 1902, Blossom city marshal;
William C. Shultz, March 6, 1904, Paris Police department;
William Robert Draper, Feb. 5, 1909, Precinct 1 deputy constable;
Duain S. Cross, July 20, 1920, Paris Police Department; and
George R. Robertson, Sept. 10, 1940, chief deputy sheriff.
Schultz holds the distinction as the only officer to be killed by accident by another police officer. He was shot by a fellow officer in 1904 when the two were on foot patrol in an alley. The other officer's pistol fell out of his pocket, struck the ground on the hammer and fired. The bullet struck Schultz in the left thigh and traveled upward into his body. He died approximately two weeks later, on March 6, 1904.
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