In the line of duty, Deputy Sheriff Tom Johnson of the Pawnee County Sheriff's Office was killed by gunfire on Tuesday, March 19, 1901. Johnson, along with the Pawnee County Sheriff and another deputy, had gone to a residence near Pawnee to apprehend a suspect wanted for a murder committed during a robbery in Red Rock the previous day. A Noble County Deputy Sheriff had located the suspect and alerted the Pawnee County authorities.
As the three officers approached the house, the suspect
unexpectedly opened fire on them. Deputy Johnson was struck by the gunfire and died instantly at the scene. The other officers returned fire, but the suspect, a known outlaw who had previously escaped from the Kansas State Penitentiary in November of 1900, managed to flee the residence and evade immediate capture.
Following his escape, the suspect fled to Missouri, where he adopted a new identity and lived a quiet life as a farm worker for seven years. His criminal past eventually caught up with him in November 1908 when he was sentenced to four years in the Missouri State Penitentiary for horse theft. During his incarceration, another inmate recognized him and alerted prison officials to his true identity. The suspect was subsequently returned to Oklahoma to face justice for the murder in Red Rock. On January 29, 1912, he was sentenced to life in prison for that crime and ultimately died in custody on September 19, 1950.
