Police Officer Maxwell Badgley

Maxwell Badgley

Police Officer Badgely was stabbed to death by a prisoner who was attempting to escape custody on Warren and Wilsey Streets (current-day Sylvia Jackson Way).

Officer Badgely and two other officers were escorting four prisoners to the jail following a hearing before a judge where they were reprimanded to serve time. The prisoners were handcuffed in pairs, the left wrist of one prisoner to the right wrist of another prisoner. As Officer Badgely turned a corner near the jail with the first pair of prisoners and out of sight of the other two officers, Officer Badgely yelled for help. As the other two officers rushed to his aid, they found that he had been stabbed in the chest.

Although both prisoners attempted to flee the scene, one of them fell, preventing the pair from making their escape. Officer Badgely identified the prisoner who stabbed him just before he died. A six-inch spring dirk knife was recovered at the scene of the stabbing.

The suspect had been sentenced to four days for intoxication when he was unable to pay the fine. But for killing Officer Badgely, he was convicted of manslaughter.

Officer Badgely was survived by his wife.