Chief of Police Charles Dickey

Charles Dickey

Police Chief Charles Dickey was shot and killed shortly after 4:30 am while assisting other officers search a building for a burglary suspect at 26th Avenue and 13th Street in Gulfport.

Two officers walking their beat discovered that the business had a broken window and found an axe lying nearby. The officers called Chief Dickey, who then responded to the scene.

After breaking out more of the window, Chief Dickey entered the store. Just as one of the officers advised him to get out his gun, he was struck by a shotgun blast in the face, neck, and chest and killed instantly.

The other officers covered the exits from the building and told a deliveryman to get assistance. A county sheriff's deputy and a former constable volunteered to go inside, and they were able to arrest the suspect. The man was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death six hours and forty minutes after the murder. He was hanged on February 21, 1913.

Chief Dickey had served with the Gulfport Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and four children.