On July 19, 1921, Officer Carl J. Bickett, in plainclothes, was attempting a raid on a room in the Arcadia hotel at 322 W. 12th Street, when the man he was questioning ran. Bickett chased the man into an alley between Central Street and Broadway, where a gunfight occurred. The assailant escaped, and Bickett was fatally wounded. Bickett was discovered lying in front of the La Casa Hotel (325 West 11th Street), his gun in his right hand and his police star in his left. A suspect, John D. Murray, was later arrested as a suspect but held for tampering with motor vehicle.

Officer Bickett, 38, joined the police department in 1915.

Officer Bickett was the son-in-law of Officer Thomas J. Wilson killed in the line of duty in 1923.

Article by Brent Marchant

PO Thomas J. Wilson