# List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States in the 19th century

This is a list of people reported killed by non-military law enforcement officers in the United States in the 19th century, whether in the line of duty or not, and regardless of reason or method. The listing documents the occurrence of a death, making no implications regarding wrongdoing or justification on the part of the person killed or officer involved. Killings are arranged by date of the incident that caused death. Different death dates, if known, are noted in the description. This page lists 74 people.

## 19th century

The table below lists 75 people.
| Date | Name (age) of deceased | State (political subdivision) | Description |
| 1899-12-25 | Dodd, Harvey | Missouri (Jefferson City) | As an officer arrested a woman, Dodd shot at the officer, but missed. The officer shot him twice. |
| 1899-12-25 | Thomas, William | Alabama (Birmingham) | Thomas assaulted an officer responding to a disturbance. The officer shot him five times. |
| 1899-10-29 | Wyatt, Henderson | Georgia (Columbus) | Wyatt assaulted an officer responding to a burglary. The officer fatally shot him. |
| 1899-10-08 | unidentified male | California (Alameda) | Police responding to a burglary were shot at by three men. Two officers were wounded before one officer shot and killed one of the suspects. Another was arrested, while a third escaped. |
| 1899-08-21 | Birch, James | Indiana (Indianapolis) | Birch was shot by an officer after he shot and injured the policeman. |
| 1899-07-22 | O'Donnell, Michael | Illinois (Chicago) | O'Donnell was shot by an officer when he and a friend refused to alight from a train they were freighthopping. |
| 1899-06-28 | Gerah, Hugh | Oklahoma (Tecumseh) | Gerah was shot and killed by a policeman, who was arrested. |
| 1899-05-17 | unidentified male | Illinois (Chicago) | A policeman was assaulted by several Italian men on Polk Street. The officer fired into the crowd, killing a man and wounding two others. |
| 1899-02-18 | Harry Sloan | Kentucky (Enterprise) | |
| 1899-02-10 | William Harvey (32) | Massachusetts (Worcester) | Patrolman Ira F. Goodwin fired a shot at a fleeing suspect who had allegedly failed to heed verbal commands and a warning shot. Harvey, an uninvolved passerby, was struck by the bullet and died several minutes later. Goodwin was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Goodwin was formally indicted, but his case was adjourned and he returned to duty in February 1900. |
| 1899-02-10 | Leach, Edward | Illinois (Chicago) | Leach, a police officer, was fatally shot by Patrick Furlong, another officer, after a political quarrel. |
| 1998-05-16 (?) | William Stewart (17) | Kansas (Kansas City) | |
| 1897-12-15 | James Merriweather | Arkansas (Hamburg) | |
| 1897-10-27 | Thomas M. Howe | Rhode Island (Providence) | Howe, who was intoxicated, shot and wounded an officer who attempted to guide him home. The officer chased Howe into the woods as Howe fired at him and shot Howe, who died at the scene. |
| 1897-09-10 | Michael Cheslock | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Sebastian Bozestoski (35) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Chobonshi (23) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Adalbert Czaja (27) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Futa (29) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Gastack (32) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Antonio Grazke (33) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Frank Kodel (24) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Andrew Kollick (30) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Andre Nikzkowuski (27) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Rulof Rekenits (35) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Ruski (28) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Sheka (27) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Tranke (32) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Turnasdich (27) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Stephen Urich (27) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Andrew Varicku (28) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Andrew Yerkman (31) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Stanley Zagorski (45) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Adam Zamoski (26) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | Andrew Zeminski (31) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-09-10 | John Zernovick (33) | Pennsylvania (Hazleton) | Lattimer massacre |
| 1897-03-09 | Sullivan, Henry | California (San Francisco) | Sullivan was shot two times by Policeman George Dougherty, who then attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head. |
| 1896-11-15 | Cy Moore | Missouri (Keytesville) | |
| 1895-01-08 | James Smith | Oklahoma (South Enid) | |
| 1895-01-08 | James Brown | Oklahoma (South Enid) | |
| 1894-12-25 | Gallagher, Charles | Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) | Gallagher, along with John Morell and William Slaar, assaulted an officer attempting to arrest a friend named William Brown. The officer opened fire, killing Gallagher. |
| 1894-09-27 | Unnamed man | Utah (Salt Lake City) | |
| 1894-09-27 | Unnamed man | Utah (Salt Lake City) | |
| 1894-06-28 | Schmidt, Elmer | California (Sacramento) | Schmidt was shot as he fled arrest. |
| 1894-03-20 | Jack Hippart Jr. | Florida (Jacksonville) | |
| 1894-03-20 | Jack Hippart Sr. | Florida (Jacksonville) | |
| 1893-09-28 | R. G. Harris | Arizona (Phoenix) | |
| 1893-09-28 | Bob Dunlap | Arizona (Phoenix) | |
| 1893-05-09 | John Elks | Pennsylvania (Greensburg) | |
| 1893-05-09 | Unnamed Hungarian man | Pennsylvania (Greensburg) | |
| 1893-05-09 | Unnamed Hungarian man | Pennsylvania (Greensburg) | |
| 1892-06-29 | Kirlin, Robert | California (San Francisco) | Kirlin attempted to stab an officer with a cheese knife and was shot dead. |
| 1891-11-27 | surname Parker | Utah (Salt Lake City) | Parker, a police captain, disputed with another officer, Albright. Parker attempted to shoot Albright with a revolver, and Albright shot Parker dead. |
| 1891-02-11 | May, John | California (San Francisco) | May was shot in the back and killed as he ran away from police. The officer responsible said that he only meant to scare May. |
| 1890-12-15 | Sitting Bull | South Dakota (Standing Rock Indian Reservation) | Death of Sitting Bull |
| 1890-11-03 | Edwards, James | Tennessee (Kingston) | Edwards and town marshal John M. Webster Jr. fatally shot each other as Webster attempted to arrest Edwards. |
| 1890-09-30 | John Davenport (11) | Massachusetts (Boston) | A patrolman heard a noise from a residential yard and saw two people fleeing the area. According to the officer, after verbal commands failed, he fired a shot to frighten the suspects, which fatally wounded Davenport. |
| 1890-03-17 | John McCann | Colorado (Monte Visto) | |
| 1890-03-17 | Charles Harris | Colorado (Monte Visto) | |
| 1890-03-17 | Thomas Gallagher | Colorado (Monte Visto) | |
| 1890-03-07 | B. Robertson | Kansas (Valley Falls) | |
| 1889‑08‑14 | Terry, David S. (66) | California (Lathrop) | Chief Justice of California David S. Terry attempted to assault U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Johnson Field at a train station in Lathrop, California. Field's bodyguard, U.S. Marshal David Neagle, shot and killed Terry. This event led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision In re Neagle. |
| 1889-04-23 | "Burris" | Arkansas (Little Rock) | |
| 1888-07-05 | Mike Laughlin | Nebraska (Benkleman) | |
| 1888-07-03 | James McGeorge | Kentucky (Louisville) | |
| 1888-07-03 | Bill Smith | Kentucky (Louisville) | |
| 1888-05-01 | John Reardon | Kansas (Olatus) | |
| 1884-09-27 | Thomas Callahan | Massachusetts (Boston) | While an officer arrested an intoxicated man, several of the detainee's friends, including Callahan, attacked the officer in an attempt to free their friend. According to the officer, he fired three shots into the ground in order to scare the killers, which struck Callahan and killed him. |
| 1879-04-22 | John M. Dent | Mississippi (Vicksburg) | |
| 1872-07-28 | Madden, Matthew | New York (Manhattan) | An officer shot into a crowd and fatally wounded Madden. |
| 1858‑11‑10 | Hollis, John | New York (Manhattan) | Longshoreman Hollis allegedly threatened to kill ship captain Thomas Conway for not giving him a job on his crew. Conway called police. Officer Robert Cairnes responded, and Hollis ran away. Cairnes pursued, firing his pistol after him. Two shots missed, before a cartman grabbed Hollis's collar and held him. Cairnes ran up exclaiming, "You will get away from me, will you?" and shot directly into Hollis's back, so close that his coat caught fire. A coroner's jury ruled the fatal shooting was not justifiable, but a grand jury declined to indict the officer. |
| 1855-05-21 | Freeman | Missouri (St. Louis) | Freeman, a free Black man and abolitionist, was killed by police while trying to help slaves escape from captivity in Missouri. |
| 1853-11-16 | John Ragin | Ohio (Cincinnati) | |
| 1852-05-04 | James Gillespie | Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) | |
| 1852-01-29 | Warren C. Norris | California (San Francisco) | |