On September 15, 1935 at 3:45 am, Sergeant Arlo Smith of the Terminal Railroad Police Department's 'Flying Squad' of special agents was accidentally shot and killed.

Sergeant Smith was searching the Church Station railroad yards two miles north of East St Louis when he was mistaken for a robber and shot by a special agent for the Illinois Central Railroad. Sergeant Smith was struck in the head and neck by shotgun pellets and died from his injuries several hours later at St Mary's Hospital. A coroners inquest ruled the shooting an accident.

Sergeant Smith, 30, had been with the Terminal Police for two years after he had served with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Sergeant Smith's father was Chief Special Agent for Terminal Railroad. He was survived by his wife, parents and six siblings. Interred: New Saint Marcus Cemetery and Mausoleum, Affton, MO.