Chief of Police Henry Abner Sturdivant

Henry Abner Sturdivant

Chief of Police Abner Sturdivant succumbed to injuries sustained on July 4th, 1935, when the driver of a vehicle intentionally struck a utility pole.

He and the assistant chief had arrested five men who were in a stolen vehicle. The officers instructed the driver to proceed to the jail as they rode on the vehicle's running boards. As the vehicle neared the jail the driver intentionally served into a telephone pole. Chief Sturdivant was thrown below the vehicle, which ran him over as the driver fled.

Two of the men were arrested a short time later.

Chief Sturdivant was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on July 10th, 1935.

Chief Sturdivant was survived by his wife, daughter, two brothers, and two sisters. One of his brothers served as the police chief of the Atlanta Police Department and his other brother served as a police officer with the Atlanta Joint Terminals.