Deputy Sheriff Orie A. Hicks

Orie A. Hicks

Deputy Sheriff Hicks was shot and killed while serving an arrest warrant at 10:30 pm in the Kenvir Community in Harlan County.

Earlier in the day, two brothers, one who was a minor, escaped from a deputy after a minor traffic accident involving disorderly conduct and drunken driving. Deputy Hicks and three other officers went to their home to serve warrants when the shooting broke out. In the aftermath of the shooting, the father and another brother were killed, a policeman was wounded, and Deputy Hicks was killed. One suspect was wounded in the leg.

Two suspects were charged with murder. The trial outcome is unknown, but one suspect escaped prison in 1974 and was apprehended. He died in 1984.

Deputy Hicks was survived by his wife, four daughters, and five sons.