In the spring of 1900, the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was rocked by the violent death of one of its own peace officers. John Wafe Adams, a male police officer for the Birmingham Police Department, was tragically killed in the line of duty. The fateful encounter occurred on the night of March 27th, or in the early hours of March 28th, when Officer Adams and his partner, Officer George W. Kirkley, witnessed a robbery in progress at the Standard Oil offices.
Without hesitation, the two officers moved to intervene and apprehend the suspect. A gunfight ensued, and in the exchange of bullets, both Officer Adams and Officer Kirkley were mortally wounded.
The brazen killing of two police officers sent shockwaves through the community and sparked an immediate and intensive investigation to bring the perpetrator to justice. The search for the assailant or assailants was swift, leading to the apprehension of two suspects who were identified as John Manning, who also went by the alias Frank Miller, and Frank Duncan. The legal proceedings that followed were closely watched by the public, eager for a resolution to the senseless violence that had claimed the lives of two of their protectors.
The trial of John Manning and Frank Duncan for the murders of Officer Adams and Officer Kirkley was a significant event in Birmingham. The prosecution presented its case, and after the presentation of evidence and testimony, the court rendered its verdict. One of the suspects was sentenced to death for the capital crime. On June 29, 1901, the sentence was carried out, and the convicted individual was hanged for the murders of the two officers, bringing a close to the case that had so deeply affected the city of Birmingham. The sacrifice of Officer John Wafe Adams and Officer George W. Kirkley remains a somber chapter in the history of the Birmingham Police Department.
