In the summer of 1910, a call regarding a threat to a homeowner's property sent Scranton Police Department Patrol Wagon Driver George D. Kent and his fellow officers into a situation that would turn fatal. On Saturday, July 30, 1910, the officers responded to a report from a homeowner who claimed a group of people were attempting to blow up his house.
Upon their arrival at the scene, the situation took a violent and unexpected turn. The very homeowner who had summoned them for help opened fire on the responding officers with a rifle. In the ensuing chaos, 24-year-old Officer Kent was struck by the gunfire and killed. He had served with the department for two years. The other officers on the scene immediately returned fire, and the homeowner who had shot Officer Kent was killed.
