An attempt to enforce the law in a notorious gambling den just outside of Baton Rouge cost Sheriff Robert B. Day his life on a Saturday night in March of 1924. The seasoned lawman, a male, was gunned down in a violent exchange of fire that left another man dead and led to the arrest of four others. The events of that evening unfolded in a shadowy establishment located in an area known as Dixie, a community situated about two miles north of the state capital.
On the night of March 29th,
Sheriff Day, accompanied by a deputy, descended on the gambling house with the intent of putting a stop to the illicit activities within. As the officers of the law made their move, they were met with armed resistance. In the ensuing chaos, shots were fired, and Sheriff Day fell, mortally wounded. The lawmen returned fire, and in the exchange, the man believed to be responsible for the sheriff's death was shot and killed at the scene.
In the immediate aftermath of the deadly confrontation, four other individuals who were present at the gambling establishment were taken into custody and subsequently charged in connection with the murder of the sheriff. The violent death of the parish's chief law enforcement officer sent shockwaves through the community. In a surprising turn of events that spoke to the respect Sheriff Day commanded, his wife, Eudora Slaughter Day, was appointed to serve as sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish on March 31, 1924, just two days after her husband's tragic death, to carry on his legacy of service. He was also survived by his children.
