In the afternoon hours of January 12, 1910, a disturbance at a saloon at the corner of Choctaw and Third Streets in Leavenworth, Kansas, set the stage for a fatal encounter. Policeman Wilmer Grant DeVinish, a 31-year-old officer with the Leavenworth Police Department, responded to the scene with his partner, Policeman Patrick Sweeney. They were there to arrest a man who was disrupting the peace inside the establishment.
The situation inside the saloon escalated rapidly when the subject
of the arrest produced a revolver. Without warning, he opened fire, striking both officers. Policeman Sweeney was wounded in the exchange. DeVinish, however, sustained mortal wounds to his head and heart. Despite his grievous injuries, he managed to return fire before succumbing. His time with the Leavenworth Police Department had been brief, having served for only four months. Prior to his law enforcement career, he had been a prison guard at the Leavenworth Penitentiary and had served his country in the Spanish-American War, where he was decorated for bravery.
The man responsible for the shooting was apprehended, and justice was relatively swift. Three months after the deadly confrontation, the suspect was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison for the killing of Policeman DeVinish. His life would end behind bars on March 30, 1926. Wilmer DeVinish was survived by his wife and child, his parents, and his grandparents. He was laid to rest next to his brother, who had also served in law enforcement.
