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Once lost to history, lawman's line-of-duty death no longer forgotten
John Tyler Pierce was fatally shot enforcing a city ordinance against late saloon hours; he is the only Mitchell officer to die in the line of duty, killed on his last workday.
- On April 9, 1884, City Marshal John Tyler Pierce was dispatched to the Parlor Saloon in Mitchell, South Dakota, where proprietor Henry Lewis fired a loaded shotgun at him, causing an apparently instantaneous fatal wound to the head.
- Nightwatchman Louis Eller saw a light at the Parlor Saloon between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., ordered Henry Lewis to close, and after Lewis refused and bystanders intervened, enlisted City Marshal John Tyler Pierce and deputies John Lowell and Dan Collins to arrest him.
- Deputy Dan Collins took the front-door position while John Tyler Pierce and others entered from the rear unarmed, followed by an inquest with testimony from Eller, Dr. W.E. Crane, Collins, Lowell, and editor W.A. Sherwin before coroner A.S. Curtis.
- On Thursday, Henry Lewis was brought before Police Justice Abbey, and later reporting says his trial was moved to Plankinton, South Dakota, where he was apparently acquitted.
- The story resurfaced after local officials Davison County Sheriff Lyle Swenson and then-Mitchell Chief Lyndon Overweg uncovered records; John Tyler Pierce's headstone was photographed at Graceland Cemetery on Aug. 6, 2025, as Attorney General Marty Jackley urged remembering 59 fallen officers.
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14 Articles
Pine Journal+13 Reposted by 13 other sources
Once lost to history, lawman's line-of-duty death no longer forgotten
MITCHELL, S.D. — Nearly 141 years ago, John Tyler Pierce, city marshal for Mitchell, South Dakota, was dispatched to a local saloon to arrest the shopkeeper in charge. Though not necessarily an unusual assignment, after it was all over, Pierce was dead from a gunshot wound to the head. The incident claimed the life of the 43-year-old Pierce. He is considered the only law enforcement officer from Mitchell to die in the line of duty, and his death…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left0Leaning Right6Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Right
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources lean Right
55% Right
C 45%
R 55%
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