Patrolman
William Albert Drury
Jeffersonville Police Department
Wednesday, June 20, 1945

Age: 60
Served: 4 years
Badge #:
Panel 59E, Line 28 (2014)
Panel L29, Line 13 (2014)

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Saturday, April 14, 1945
09:25 am
Incident to Death Duration:
67 days
Incident Location:
601 West Broadway, Louisville, Kentucky
Incident County:
Jefferson
Incident Township:
(There are no civil townships in the Commonwealth of Kentucky)
Weapon Used:
Officer's handgun
Suspect Disposition:
Died while in custody
Burial Place:
Eastern Cemetery, Jeffersonville

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   Patrolman William Drury died from a gunshot wound he suffered over two months earlier while taking a Navy deserter to the federal building in Louisville, Kentucky.

   The deserter had been arrested in Jeffersonville and was being taken by Patrolman Drury and another officer to be turned over to federal authorities. As Patrolman Drury exited the patrol car in the building's parking lot, the deserter suddenly grabbed his revolver and shot him in the throat at point-blank range before fleeing on foot.

   Patrolman Drury was initially taken to Louisville General Hospital and later to Clark County Memorial Hospital, in Jeffersonville, where he died.

   The 21-year-old offender was located in New Albany that evening by Navy Shore Patrol officers where he was shot and wounded during an exchange of gunfire with them. He died while in custody 11 days later at the U.S. Marine Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.

   Patrolman Drury was survived by four sons, two daughters, nine grandchildren, father and two sisters.

Historical Note

• Patrolman Drury is one of nine Indiana line of duty death incidents that occurred in another state.

Historic Place


The United States Post Office, Court House and Custom House, at 601 West Broadway in Louisville, was built in 1931–32. It serves as the courthouse for the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. In 1986, it was renamed the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse and Custom House after Marion Gene Snyder (1928–2007), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 18, 1999.



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