Oh, How Times Have Changed

I was browsing on the OCPD website today, looking through the "fallen heroes" section where there is a short tribute to each of the Oklahoma City officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

The entry for our very first in-the-line death was especially interesting. It recounts the death of City Marshall John Howard, only two months after the Land Run.

June 14, 1889


One day after John S. Howard was appointed the City Marshal of South Oklahoma [City], he was confronted by his predecessor who was in a drunken rage, angered by his dismissal. A gunfight ensued in the 100 block of West Reno and the previous Marshal fatally wounded Marshal Howard.

The 100 block of West Reno, where the Marshall was gunned down by the former Marshall is now home to the Ford Center, where the Blazers and the Hornets play. Isn't that something.