Constable
Thomas Cummines
Jefferson Township Constable's Office
Tuesday, September 28, 1886

Age: 40
Served: 9 years, 11 months
Badge #:
Panel 56W, Line 28 (2012)
Panel L16, Line 12 (2012)

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Tuesday, September 28, 1886
03:00 pm
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
State Road 145, Birdseye
Incident County:
Dubois
Incident Township:
Jefferson
Weapon Used:
Revolver
Suspect Disposition:
Discharged in 1888
Burial Place:
Mentor Cemetery, Mentor

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   Constable Thomas Cummines was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a subject for illegally carrying concealed weapons.

   The subject had come to the area making numerous illegal arrests claiming to be a private detective. When confronted by Constable Cummines at a saloon in Birdseye, he was shot in the abdomen by the man with a revolver concealed in his coat sleeve.

   Constable Cummines was taken to a house nearby and died about a half-hour later.

   The suspect escaped into the woods but turned himself in the following week. He was later found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in a change of venue to Pike County, sentenced to two years in prison and discharged in 1888.

   Constable Cummines, from Jefferson Township and the appointed township constable, was survived by his wife, five sons, three daughters, brother and father.



The responsibilities of the Jefferson Township Constable's Office are now under the jurisdiction of the Dubois County Sheriff's Department.

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Jefferson Township Constable's Office

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