Harry A. Chesmore, a 25-year-old patrol officer with the Duluth Police Department, was tragically killed on January 5, 1911. Officer Chesmore was transporting two robbery suspects to police headquarters when the incident occurred. The suspects, one juvenile and one adult, had just robbed the porter at the Hotel McKay. Officer Chesmore apprehended them as they attempted to flee across the Interstate Bridge into Superior, Wisconsin.
During the transport, Officer Chesmore had the suspects
board the platform of a streetcar. The juvenile suspect complained of being cold, prompting Officer Chesmore to allow him to go inside the streetcar to stay warm. While Officer Chesmore was distracted by a drunk man on the streetcar's platform, one of the suspects seized the opportunity to draw a pistol and shot Officer Chesmore in the chest and head, fatally wounding him. The suspects then robbed the streetcar's passengers and fled the scene.
Both suspects were later apprehended and convicted of second-degree murder. They were sentenced to life in prison. The juvenile suspect died in prison of tuberculosis, while the adult suspect also succumbed to the same disease shortly after being released to his parents. Officer Chesmore's death marked a significant loss for the Duluth Police Department, as he was the first officer from the department to be killed in the line of duty.
