Patrolman James Aloysius Henry

James Aloysius Henry

Patrolman James Henry and Patrolman James Carroll were shot and killed while inside a saloon at 5253 South Halstead Street during their tour of duty watching a nearby residence.

Both officers had been detailed there in hopes to arrest a subject wanted for the murder of Special Agent Edwin Shannan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that occurred on October 11th, 1925. They were watching a house near the saloon where the suspect's girlfriend lived. In was learned from a tip, the suspect was on the way there.

While inside the saloon three armed robbers entered through a backdoor and immediately opened fire and exchanged gunshots with both officers, striking Patrolman Carroll in the head killing him. Patrolman Henry was struck in the abdomen and died four days later. A taxi driver was killed and a patron was seriously wounded before the three fled.

An investigation revealed that one of the three robbers was the suspect that Patrolmen Henry and Carroll were waiting for. He was Martin Durkin one of Chicago's most dangerous criminals. During several crimes he committed he had shot and wounded three Chicago police officers. On November 2, 1925, he and a lady friend were responsible for the murder of Sergeant Harry Gray. On January 20, 1926, Durkin was apprehended by FBI agents at a train station in St. louis. Two witnesses that saw the three gunman were shown Durkin at the Cook County Jail. They said he was not one of the robbers. The three were never identified or apprehended.

Patrolman Henry was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWI and had served with the Chicago Police Department for four years.