William Eugene Minor was born in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee to parents, Davis K. and Dora Maude (Atkinson) Minor. Minor had three brothers and five sisters (Edgar D., Fannie B., Earl K., John L., Maggie H., Mary P., Floy C., and Ruby G.) and grew up in Maury County, Tennessee. Minor’s father was a post master and his mother was home with the children. In 1920, Minor was working in Maury County as a clerk in a bakery. By 1922, Minor was living and working in St. Petersburg as a laborer for Williams Beer & Ice Company. In June of 1923, in Pinellas County, Minor married Mary Elizabeth Coleman and they had one daughter (Gertrude E. “Trudy”).
On 15 Oct 1924, Minor started working as a police officer for St. Petersburg and eventually held a position as a motorcycle officer. On 25 Oct 1929, at approximately 0430 hours, Minor stopped a vehicle at 30 Avenue North and 16 Street North for a minor traffic violation. It is not known whether Minor was aware that the suspect driver, Sam Wiggins, was transporting a load of stolen chickens, but Wiggins had been wanted for about three weeks for a chicken theft in Pinellas Park. There was a verbal argument between Minor and Wiggins, and then Wiggins shot and killed Minor with a shotgun and fled the scene in his truck before the murder was discovered. The investigation identified a 16 year old newspaper boy, James R. Jones, had witnessed the shooting as well as a resident near the traffic stop. An hour later, Wiggins attempted to evade a roadblock near Haines Road and Bay to Bay Boulevard by ramming a police car and then abandoning his truck and fleeing into a wooded area on foot. Two Clearwater police officers, Officer E.F. Gross and Officer Guy Holloway, were patrolling and looking for Wiggins at approximately 0615 hours when they located him further north on Haines Road near Safety Harbor. Wiggins threatened the two officers and fired shots at them from a .38 caliber revolver, which shot out the rear window of the police cruiser. Both Clearwater officers shot Wiggins and he was killed at the scene.
Officer Minor was survived by his Mother; wife, Mary E.; daughter, Trudy (1); and all of his siblings listed above. There was a huge show of support for Officer Minor from citizens and law enforcement officers in the community at the J. W. Wilhelm Funeral Chapel. Police Chief Noel was quoted as saying, “He was one of the best on the force and his death is a blow to all of us”. Officer Minor was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927, the Florida State Legislature had passed an act to allow the police pension fund to pay 75% of the officer’s pay to the widow and $15 per month to the juvenile child of any officer killed in the line of duty. Mary E. Minor received a monthly pension payment of $118.13. At age 26 and with 5 years of service, Officer William Eugene Minor was the fourth St. Petersburg police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
∼Eugene Minor was a Police Officer in St. Petersburg, Florida. He died in the line of duty, at age 29. While stopping a vehicle near 16th St., he was shot and killed. The driver of the car was skipping town, because he had a warrant out for his arrest. After talking with the driver of the car, he returned to the car to speak to him again. The driver pulled out a 16 guage shotgun and shot him in the chest. The suspect fled the scene, but was located a short time later, and became engaged in a shootout with other Officers, where the suspect was wounded. He was able to escape, but encountered other Officers, in Clearwater, Florida. The suspect was shot and killed in that second shootout. Officer Minor was survived by his wife and a daughter.
On 15 Oct 1924, Minor started working as a police officer for St. Petersburg and eventually held a position as a motorcycle officer. On 25 Oct 1929, at approximately 0430 hours, Minor stopped a vehicle at 30 Avenue North and 16 Street North for a minor traffic violation. It is not known whether Minor was aware that the suspect driver, Sam Wiggins, was transporting a load of stolen chickens, but Wiggins had been wanted for about three weeks for a chicken theft in Pinellas Park. There was a verbal argument between Minor and Wiggins, and then Wiggins shot and killed Minor with a shotgun and fled the scene in his truck before the murder was discovered. The investigation identified a 16 year old newspaper boy, James R. Jones, had witnessed the shooting as well as a resident near the traffic stop. An hour later, Wiggins attempted to evade a roadblock near Haines Road and Bay to Bay Boulevard by ramming a police car and then abandoning his truck and fleeing into a wooded area on foot. Two Clearwater police officers, Officer E.F. Gross and Officer Guy Holloway, were patrolling and looking for Wiggins at approximately 0615 hours when they located him further north on Haines Road near Safety Harbor. Wiggins threatened the two officers and fired shots at them from a .38 caliber revolver, which shot out the rear window of the police cruiser. Both Clearwater officers shot Wiggins and he was killed at the scene.
Officer Minor was survived by his Mother; wife, Mary E.; daughter, Trudy (1); and all of his siblings listed above. There was a huge show of support for Officer Minor from citizens and law enforcement officers in the community at the J. W. Wilhelm Funeral Chapel. Police Chief Noel was quoted as saying, “He was one of the best on the force and his death is a blow to all of us”. Officer Minor was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927, the Florida State Legislature had passed an act to allow the police pension fund to pay 75% of the officer’s pay to the widow and $15 per month to the juvenile child of any officer killed in the line of duty. Mary E. Minor received a monthly pension payment of $118.13. At age 26 and with 5 years of service, Officer William Eugene Minor was the fourth St. Petersburg police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
∼Eugene Minor was a Police Officer in St. Petersburg, Florida. He died in the line of duty, at age 29. While stopping a vehicle near 16th St., he was shot and killed. The driver of the car was skipping town, because he had a warrant out for his arrest. After talking with the driver of the car, he returned to the car to speak to him again. The driver pulled out a 16 guage shotgun and shot him in the chest. The suspect fled the scene, but was located a short time later, and became engaged in a shootout with other Officers, where the suspect was wounded. He was able to escape, but encountered other Officers, in Clearwater, Florida. The suspect was shot and killed in that second shootout. Officer Minor was survived by his wife and a daughter.
William Eugene Minor was born in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee to parents, Davis K. and Dora Maude (Atkinson) Minor. Minor had three brothers and five sisters (Edgar D., Fannie B., Earl K., John L., Maggie H., Mary P., Floy C., and Ruby G.) and grew up in Maury County, Tennessee. Minor’s father was a post master and his mother was home with the children. In 1920, Minor was working in Maury County as a clerk in a bakery. By 1922, Minor was living and working in St. Petersburg as a laborer for Williams Beer & Ice Company. In June of 1923, in Pinellas County, Minor married Mary Elizabeth Coleman and they had one daughter (Gertrude E. “Trudy”).
On 15 Oct 1924, Minor started working as a police officer for St. Petersburg and eventually held a position as a motorcycle officer. On 25 Oct 1929, at approximately 0430 hours, Minor stopped a vehicle at 30 Avenue North and 16 Street North for a minor traffic violation. It is not known whether Minor was aware that the suspect driver, Sam Wiggins, was transporting a load of stolen chickens, but Wiggins had been wanted for about three weeks for a chicken theft in Pinellas Park. There was a verbal argument between Minor and Wiggins, and then Wiggins shot and killed Minor with a shotgun and fled the scene in his truck before the murder was discovered. The investigation identified a 16 year old newspaper boy, James R. Jones, had witnessed the shooting as well as a resident near the traffic stop. An hour later, Wiggins attempted to evade a roadblock near Haines Road and Bay to Bay Boulevard by ramming a police car and then abandoning his truck and fleeing into a wooded area on foot. Two Clearwater police officers, Officer E.F. Gross and Officer Guy Holloway, were patrolling and looking for Wiggins at approximately 0615 hours when they located him further north on Haines Road near Safety Harbor. Wiggins threatened the two officers and fired shots at them from a .38 caliber revolver, which shot out the rear window of the police cruiser. Both Clearwater officers shot Wiggins and he was killed at the scene.
Officer Minor was survived by his Mother; wife, Mary E.; daughter, Trudy (1); and all of his siblings listed above. There was a huge show of support for Officer Minor from citizens and law enforcement officers in the community at the J. W. Wilhelm Funeral Chapel. Police Chief Noel was quoted as saying, “He was one of the best on the force and his death is a blow to all of us”. Officer Minor was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927, the Florida State Legislature had passed an act to allow the police pension fund to pay 75% of the officer’s pay to the widow and $15 per month to the juvenile child of any officer killed in the line of duty. Mary E. Minor received a monthly pension payment of $118.13. At age 26 and with 5 years of service, Officer William Eugene Minor was the fourth St. Petersburg police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
∼Eugene Minor was a Police Officer in St. Petersburg, Florida. He died in the line of duty, at age 29. While stopping a vehicle near 16th St., he was shot and killed. The driver of the car was skipping town, because he had a warrant out for his arrest. After talking with the driver of the car, he returned to the car to speak to him again. The driver pulled out a 16 guage shotgun and shot him in the chest. The suspect fled the scene, but was located a short time later, and became engaged in a shootout with other Officers, where the suspect was wounded. He was able to escape, but encountered other Officers, in Clearwater, Florida. The suspect was shot and killed in that second shootout. Officer Minor was survived by his wife and a daughter.
On 15 Oct 1924, Minor started working as a police officer for St. Petersburg and eventually held a position as a motorcycle officer. On 25 Oct 1929, at approximately 0430 hours, Minor stopped a vehicle at 30 Avenue North and 16 Street North for a minor traffic violation. It is not known whether Minor was aware that the suspect driver, Sam Wiggins, was transporting a load of stolen chickens, but Wiggins had been wanted for about three weeks for a chicken theft in Pinellas Park. There was a verbal argument between Minor and Wiggins, and then Wiggins shot and killed Minor with a shotgun and fled the scene in his truck before the murder was discovered. The investigation identified a 16 year old newspaper boy, James R. Jones, had witnessed the shooting as well as a resident near the traffic stop. An hour later, Wiggins attempted to evade a roadblock near Haines Road and Bay to Bay Boulevard by ramming a police car and then abandoning his truck and fleeing into a wooded area on foot. Two Clearwater police officers, Officer E.F. Gross and Officer Guy Holloway, were patrolling and looking for Wiggins at approximately 0615 hours when they located him further north on Haines Road near Safety Harbor. Wiggins threatened the two officers and fired shots at them from a .38 caliber revolver, which shot out the rear window of the police cruiser. Both Clearwater officers shot Wiggins and he was killed at the scene.
Officer Minor was survived by his Mother; wife, Mary E.; daughter, Trudy (1); and all of his siblings listed above. There was a huge show of support for Officer Minor from citizens and law enforcement officers in the community at the J. W. Wilhelm Funeral Chapel. Police Chief Noel was quoted as saying, “He was one of the best on the force and his death is a blow to all of us”. Officer Minor was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927, the Florida State Legislature had passed an act to allow the police pension fund to pay 75% of the officer’s pay to the widow and $15 per month to the juvenile child of any officer killed in the line of duty. Mary E. Minor received a monthly pension payment of $118.13. At age 26 and with 5 years of service, Officer William Eugene Minor was the fourth St. Petersburg police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
∼Eugene Minor was a Police Officer in St. Petersburg, Florida. He died in the line of duty, at age 29. While stopping a vehicle near 16th St., he was shot and killed. The driver of the car was skipping town, because he had a warrant out for his arrest. After talking with the driver of the car, he returned to the car to speak to him again. The driver pulled out a 16 guage shotgun and shot him in the chest. The suspect fled the scene, but was located a short time later, and became engaged in a shootout with other Officers, where the suspect was wounded. He was able to escape, but encountered other Officers, in Clearwater, Florida. The suspect was shot and killed in that second shootout. Officer Minor was survived by his wife and a daughter.
Gravesite Details
National Law Enforcement Memorial: Panel 8 - E: line 5
