On January 15, 1923, Seattle Police Officer Arthur B. Luntsford (1880-1923) is fatally shot by an armed robbery suspect on 1st Avenue. The suspect then turns the gun on himself.
Just before midnight on January 15, Officer Luntsford and his partner arrested two men they had reason to believe were about to commit a robbery. As the officers led their prisoners away, suspect Gilman pulled a gun and shot Luntsford in the back. Gilman exchanged shots with Luntsford's partner, then shot himself. Gilman died in the street. Luntsford died on January 20, 1923.
The second suspect was discovered to be an innocent bystander.
Sources:
Rae Anna Victor, Century of Honor: Excellence and Valor in Washington State Law Enforcement (Bloomington, IN: 1st Books, 2000), pp. 173-174; Michael D. Brasfield, "An Examination of the Historical and Biographical Material Pertaining to the Violent Deaths Involving Seattle Police Officers (1881-1980)," (Undergraduate thesis, University of Washington Library, 1980), 52.
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