William Clarence Poindexter

Agency: Pleasant Hill Police Department, Missouri

Night Policeman Poindexter, 39, was shot and killed by two robbery suspects as he and Officer Adams attempted to arrest them. A warning was telegraphed to Pleasant Hill that two men suspected of a robbery in Richards, Missouri train depot were headed there. Officers Poindexter and Adams were watching for them when the suspects came out of the Chappell Restaurant and went into the Missouri Pacific Depot where they purchased tickets to Independence, Missouri. The officers attempted to arrest the suspects and a gun battle ensued. Officer Poindexter sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the brain, one suspect was also killed and the second suspect, W.F. Williams, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, was wounded in the scalp, shoulder and back. After Williams' wounds were treated he was locked in the "Bull Pen" at City Hall and guarded until early the next morning. When the officer finally went home men stole into the building as the city still slept, broke into the cell, removed Williams, bound him and hung him from the fire bell tower.

Officer Poindexter was survived by his wife, Lois, and his parents, William and Mary Poindexter.

Reflections:

Clarence Poindexter was a cousin of my grandmother. I remember her saying that she and others spent an evening/night with his widow while the men were out hunting the killer. His home was at the corner of Independence and Myrtle.

Philip C. Parker

References:

• www.missourimemorial.com/roll/pleasanthill/1915_ClarencePoindexter/

• www.findagrave.com/memorial/76019164/william-clarence-poindexter

• Pleasant Hill Missouri Police Department Facebook Page