A very long time ago.......

[valycop]

For all of you reading this thread I found this by accident. This mornings addition of our local newspaper had this article written seventy-five years ago on Friday, December 21, 1932.

The Winchester Star

"As the result of one of the most unusual accidents ever to occur in this section, Sheriff Luther Pannett, veteran law enforcement officer for Frederick County, was critically and probably fatally wounded early this morning when he slipped and fell on the steps of the local jail, his revolver exploded and the officer sustained a bullet wound through the skull, piercing the brain.

Rushed to Winchester Memorial Hospital immediately following the accident, Dr. Charles B. Anderson was called to his bedside to render all possible aid to the injured man. Early this afternoon attaches at the hospital declared Sheriff Pannett’s condition to be extremely critical and that little hope was held out for his recovery.

Mrs. Pannett told Chief Hollis that about 4:45 o’clock this morning Sheriff Pannett arose from bed on hearing a noise in the cell block area of the jail. After obtaining his .32 caliber service revolver and flashlight, the sheriff is said to have made his way up the flight of stairs from the family bedroom to the cell block of the prison, a distance of about 20 feet. He was clad only in his nightclothes.

Mrs. Pannett said she heard no further noise from the direction of the staircase until a few minutes later she discerned the report of a gun.

Running to the head of the stairs, Mrs. Pannett said she called to her husband but only received a sort of groan. She went to the top of the steps, where she found Sheriff Pannett lying on the landing in an unconscious condition with blood streaming from his head.

Dec. 21, 1932"

***Chris Cosgriff of the Officer Down Memorial Page and I are good friends. He flagged me because a member of our sister agency the Winchester Police Department saw this before I did and sent it to Chris.

After reading the story I checked the LEOM site and sure enough the former sheriff is not listed on the wall in DC. No one in my agency knew anything about this man and it came as quite a shock to many. We all assumed that Sheriff James Newcome killed in 1938 was the first LODD from our agency. Obviously we were wrong and I'm going to correct that situation as quickly as I can.

Luther Pannett deserves to have his name on that wall just as much as anyone else because he was investigating noises he heard from the lower floors of the jail. He was the Sheriff of our county for twenty years having been appointed in 1912!

Rest in peace Sheriff Pannett, I will make sure you will not be forgotten again.

Deputy Bob Cooley
Frederick County Sheriff's Office
Winchester, Virginia

December 19, 2007

[valycop]

You have not been forgotten Sheriff.........


http://www.odmp.org/officer/19107-sh...luther-pannett

[RO56]

Nice job, valycop.