On Sunday, July 14, 1901, in the town of Pineville, Kentucky, a 37-year-old male named **Deputy Sheriff Joseph Manning** was shot and killed in the line of duty. The incident began when Deputy Manning, accompanied by a police officer from the nearby town of Middlesboro, attempted to serve a warrant on a man who had been causing a disturbance. The suspect was known to local law enforcement for his habit of taunting officers by firing his gun into the air and then fleeing across jurisdictional
lines to avoid capture. On this particular day, Deputy Manning observed the man firing his weapon and went to obtain a warrant for his arrest.
After securing the warrant, Deputy Manning and the Middlesboro officer located the suspect a short distance away. When the officers called out to him, the man immediately opened fire. The officers returned shots, and the suspect fled on foot, prompting a chase. During the pursuit, Deputy Manning lost sight of the gunman and stopped to ask two young boys if they had seen him. As the deputy was speaking to the children, the suspect emerged from a hiding spot and fired, fatally wounding Deputy Manning.
The Middlesboro officer returned fire, striking the suspect several times. Despite his wounds, the gunman managed to escape into the woods initially. However, a posse was quickly formed, and they tracked him down a short time later, resulting in his arrest. The identity of the gunman was not detailed in the immediate accounts, but he was taken into custody to face charges for the murder of the deputy. Deputy Manning had been a dedicated lawman in Bell County, and his death marked a violent episode in the history of local law enforcement.
