Deputy Sheriff Dennis B. "Cap" Jenkins

Dennis B. "Cap" Jenkins

Deputy Sheriff Cap Jenkins and Deputy Sheriff Charles Sadler were shot and killed while attempting to arrest a drunk man with a gun at Pablo Beach. The two deputies approached the man and each deputy grabbed one of his arms. The man pulled away from the two deputies, produced a gun, and shot Deputy Sadler in the heart. Although mortally wounded, Deputy Sadler was able to return fire as the suspect fled.

As Deputy Jenkins fired at the suspect, the man's brother came up from behind and shot him in the back. The second suspect then joined his brother in running from the scene. Deputy Jenkins succumbed to his wounds three weeks later.

An off duty Cincinnati, Ohio, police officer, who was on vacation, witnessed the shooting. The officer obtained a shotgun from his room and shot one of the suspects in the back of the head, wounding him. The officer turned the wounded suspect over to two deputies and then formed a posse in search of the other suspect.

Both suspects were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. One was hung on April 4th, 1902, and the other was hung on August 7th, 1903.

Deputy Jenkins was one of the first black deputies to be killed in the line of duty in Florida. He was survived by his wife.