In the quiet of a late September evening in 1978, the rural tranquility of Union Parish, Louisiana, was shattered by a fatal act of violence that claimed the life of one of its own. Deputy Sheriff Robert V. 'Piddle' Taylor, a 45-year-old, six-year veteran of the Union Parish Sheriff's Department, was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant. The male deputy, a husband and father to six children, had gone to a residence near Farmerville to execute the legal document.
What began as a routine duty escalated into a deadly struggle. As Deputy Taylor engaged with the subject of the warrant, the man, identified as Roger Daniel Bryan, produced a small caliber handgun. In the ensuing confrontation, Bryan shot Deputy Taylor. Despite being mortally wounded, the dedicated officer managed to radio for assistance and even began to drive himself toward help before a responding state trooper intercepted him and rushed him to a local hospital. Tragically, his injuries proved too severe, and he succumbed to them a short time later.
The following day, the suspect, Roger Daniel Bryan, was apprehended in another state and extradited to Louisiana to face justice. On September 21, 1978, a Union Parish Grand Jury indicted Bryan for the first-degree murder of Deputy Robert Taylor. Following a lengthy trial, a jury found him guilty as charged. In the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, a recommendation that was binding on the court. The motive and the precise details of what transpired during the fatal encounter were subjects of intense debate during the trial. The state presented circumstantial evidence suggesting Bryan had anticipated and purposefully resisted arrest, while Bryan and his wife testified that the deputy had entered their home forcefully in the middle of the night. Despite the conflicting accounts, the jury ultimately held Bryan responsible for the death of Deputy Taylor.
