Police Chief shot/killed 8/15/03

[TheeBadOne]

Chief of Police Verlon LeMaster
Grant Police Department, AL
Age: 49
Tour of Duty: 28 yr

Chief LeMaster was shot and killed after he and two other deputies responded to a location to recover a stolen handgun.

Chief LeMaster accompanied Marshall and Madison County deputies to a home on Cathedral Caverns Highway in search of the weapon shortly after 1000 hours. The officers confronted the two juvenile suspects in the house and shots were exchanged. During the gun fight, Chief LeMaster was shot in the face. He was flown to Huntsville Hospital, where he died at 1145 hours.

One suspect was shot and wounded by deputies in return gunfire.

Chief LeMaster has a total of 28 years of law enforcement experience and had served with the Grant Police Department for 20 years. He had served as the Chief for the past 13 years.

The town of Grant is a mountaintop community of about 700 people in northeast Marshall County.
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Two things here to take to heart.
1) Don't dismiss juveniles as just "kids". They can be more dangerous than adults as they are often impulsive.
2) Also notice the size of the town, 700 people. A nice small country town. Bad things happen everywhere, not just the big city. Don't let your guard down when you go out to the countryside or small town.

 

[Ala Dan]

Very Sad Day For Law Enforcement-

as I heard about this on my local news. My sympathy
and condolences are with the Chief's family and friends.

Respectfully,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[Mark Tyson]

Now there's a chief who hit the streets with his men and took all the risks they did. Sounds like we lost a good man.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Small agency chiefs tend to be working chiefs and as working chiefs, they haven't lost the perspective of a patrolman. RIP.

 

[seeker_two]

Prayers & condolences for his family.

I hope they caught the scum...

 

[Gewehr98]

.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Don't dismiss juveniles as just "kids". They can be more dangerous than adults as they are often impulsive.

I'm a lot more concerned about J.D.s in my neighborhood than adult criminals.

 

[BerettaNut92]

what Mark Tyson said

 

[pax]

Definitely an important lesson for those of us who live in small towns.

"It can't happen here" can get you killed.

pax

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
-- Rudyard Kipling (from Tommy)

 

[Malone LaVeigh]

I never understood why anyone considers small towns more safe. I've lived in some really bad neighborhoods in a couple of major cities, and I've lived in some really small towns. On a per capita basis, small towns seem more dangerous to me.

My heart goes out to the chief and his family. RIP

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

While I respect the people here recognize the great service that our men and women in uniform do for us. This forum isn't COPOBITUARIES.COM

 

[Gewehr98]

Careful, Carlos...

See my post above? Neither do I.

I made a veiled hint that I was going to start a Marine/Soldier/Airman/Sailor shot and killed thread. As a subtle reminder to folks who post these obituaries that police officers aren't the only ones who put their lives on the line and dodge bullets on a daily basis.

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

Gewehr98, I have noticed your concern in previous threads. I'm not trying to get on anyone's (TBO's) case, just that I find it distasteful. Notice I used "Our men and women in uniform". If we posted these incidents wholly and to deserved young men and women, there would not be room for anything of real value and/or of interest.

Edit: somehow I feel our discord may be fueling the number of these posts.

 

[TheeBadOne]

Pax-Definitely an important lesson for those of us who live in small towns. "It can't happen here" can get you killed.

No doubt. When I was growing up in a small rural town that had 1 recorded murder in 100 years some bad guys decided to break into the local pharmacy on main street for cash/drugs. The PD had 2 cops on that night (1 fulltime 1 partime). One was checking businesses and pulled on the door to the drug store and it swung open. He called his partner and they went in. 3 bad guys were inside, armed. They started shooting and after the smoke cleared 2 bad guys were down and the 3rd had fled. All 3 were caught/charged. What kept the 2 cops bullet free? Two things:
1) Luck, the 1st two shots fired were by a bad guy. He was armed with a stolen .45 ACP. It had handloaded target loads in it's magazine. The 1st 2 shots hit a large filing cabinet between the cop and badguy. The files stopped the rounds. If they had been aimed 2 inches higher, no cop.
2) Training. One of the cops there was really into Officer survival and practiced with his sidearm often. He dropped the shooter with two .357 Mag rounds to the chest 3/4" apart. The 2nd shooter was hit through the arm then chest.

Unless you are from a small friendly town you cannot imagine how shocking it was to wake up and find out that this had happened. There was more than one person who felt "unsafe" for a while.
After that shoot out public "suspicious persons" calls went up and neighbors looked out for ALL neighbors, not just the good ones.
Keep on your toes where ever you go.