Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman

John Ferdinand Bockman

Chief of Police John Bockman was shot and killed while questioning a shooting suspect next to a railroad line.

A railroad worker had asked the suspect and another man to leave but was shot at by the pair. When Chief Bockman arrived on the scene he ordered the man to raise his hands but was met with gunfire. Chief Bockman was able to return fire, mortally wounding the suspect before being shot in the face.

The suspect received a shoulder wound and died in jail two days later.

Chief Bockman was a WWI veteran and was the city's only police officer at the time. He had served with the Libby Police Department for three years and was survived by wife, two sons, and parents.