In the small town of Hartford, Alabama, a long-simmering feud between two prominent figures reached its fatal conclusion. Clayton J. Roney, the 38-year-old male Chief of Police, died on September 10, 1931, in a gunfight with a former mayor of the town. The ex-mayor held a grudge against Chief Roney, stemming from multiple raids on his filling station by Roney and federal officers for violations of liquor laws.
The simmering animosity between the two men boiled over on that fateful day.
The catalyst was a seemingly minor incident: Chief Roney had used the ex-mayor's driveway to turn around a firetruck, inadvertently cracking the concrete. This act, likely perceived as another slight, was the final straw in their contentious relationship.
Later, the two men met in the middle of a local street. Words were exchanged, and in a flash of violence, both men drew their. 38 caliber handguns and opened fire. The exchange of bullets was swift and deadly, leaving both Chief Roney and the ex-mayor dead at the scene.
Chief Roney was survived by his wife and two daughters. The death of both men in the shootout concluded the immediate investigation into the incident.
