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Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Saturday, November 24, 1928
Incident to Death Duration:
1 day
Incident Location:
West Hillside Drive, Bloomington
Incident County:
Monroe
Incident Township:
Perry
Weapon Used:
.38-caliber handgun
Suspect Disposition:
Paroled in 1930

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Bloomington Police Department

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Police Officer Ralph Wayne Pogue

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Police Officer
Ralph Wayne Pogue
Bloomington Police Department
Sunday, November 25, 1928

Panel 37E, Line 26
Panel L3, Line 12

   Officer Ralph Pogue was shot and killed while he and other officers served a search warrant at a residence whose owner was suspected of illegally selling liquor.

   When the officers arrived and started reading the warrant, the man grabbed it from the officer's hand, ran to a back room and retrieved a handgun. As the officers struggled with him, Officer Pogue was shot in the stomach.

   He was transported to Bloomington Hospital where he died the following day.

   As the suspect was being transported to city hall he attempted to escape but was shot in the leg and subdued with the use of clubs when he continued to struggle.

   The 38-year-old offender was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a change of venue to Owen County after claiming he fired accidentally. He was sentenced to one to 10 years in prison but paroled after one year.

   On August 23, 1935, the same suspect shot and wounded an Indiana State Excise Police officer as they attempted to serve a warrant during a liquor raid at the suspect's residence in Bloomington.

   Officer Pogue was single and survived by his parents and five siblings.

Historical Note

• Officer Pogue is the third-youngest known officer killed in the line of duty in Indiana.


Personal Details

Age: 20
Law Enforcement Service:
3 weeks
Burial Place:
Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington