On a cold December day in 1935, Investigator William Louis Pappan, a 41-year-old Native American of the Kaw Nation, arrived at the Sheridan Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to conduct a routine inspection of their beer licenses. Accompanied by a private detective named George Stewart, Pappan began to question an employee of the establishment located at 51st Street and Sheridan Road.
The situation took a grim turn when two armed men suddenly approached the investigators from behind, launching a violent ambush.
A struggle ensued as Pappan and Stewart fought to defend themselves, but they were ultimately overpowered by their assailants. The fight spilled outside the club, where both investigators were severely beaten and then fatally shot. William Pappan, who had only been with the Internal Revenue Service's Alcohol Tax Unit for four months after a career with the Tulsa Police Department, was killed in the line of duty.
In the aftermath of the brutal attack, the legal proceedings were complex, with questions arising about whether the investigators had clearly identified themselves as law enforcement officers to the suspects. One of the employees involved in the altercation was ultimately convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the death of Investigator Pappan. The convicted man was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the killing.
