In the small town of Harrison, Georgia, a lawman's sense of duty would tragically cost him his life. Sheriff David Algerine Crawford, a 45-year-old male, had only been the Johnson County Sheriff for a brief period before he found himself in a fatal confrontation. On Thursday, February 5, 1903, Sheriff Crawford, accompanied by a county bailiff, went to a local general store in downtown Harrison to serve a warrant. The warrant was for a man wanted on a gambling violation, but the suspect was also implicated in two murders.
Upon their arrival at the store, the owner discreetly pointed out the wanted man to the lawmen. To avoid a violent altercation inside the establishment, Sheriff Crawford made the decision to wait for the suspect on the front porch. However, the suspect, upon seeing the sheriff, fired a single shot from his. 38 caliber handgun, striking Crawford in the back. As the gunman fled the scene, the bailiff managed to shoot him in the leg. Despite his injury, the suspect escaped.
A posse was quickly formed, and the following day, the suspect was apprehended and taken to the Johnson County Jail. Sheriff Crawford succumbed to his gunshot wound two days after the shooting, on Saturday, February 7, 1903. The news of his death enraged the local community. A mob of several hundred men stormed the jail, seized the suspect, and carried out their own brutal form of justice. The man was hanged and his body was riddled with more than 500 bullets.
