By: Keith Dameron, Historian – Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial
Pueblo Officer Addison Hinsdale, 21, was accidentally shot about 6:30 p.m. on October 3, 1920, and died from his wound the next afternoon, Monday, October 4, at 2:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Hospital. The bullet went thru the stomach and liver and doctors believed that he might survive but complications set in, and he passed away twenty hours after being shot. The situation that led to the shooting was a traffic crash which occurred on the western approach of the Northern Avenue viaduct. A car driven by Halley butch was traveling west over the viaduct when he was struck by a car being driven by Scott Reed. Reed’s vehicle came from a side street and up the wrong side of Northern Avenue when the collision occurred. Officer Hinsdale and Officer Charles Meyers both were walking their respective beats, heard the crash and ran towards the scene from opposite directions. Reed was attempting to extricate his vehicle from the Butcher vehicle and possibly flee the scene. Officer Meyers seeing the Reed vehicle driving away fired three shots, aiming at the tires, to try and stop the car. Officer Hinsdale was shot once with the bullet entering his stomach and exiting his back. The other two shots also missed the car. Mr. Butcher picked up Hinsdale and took him to St. Mary’s Hospital. Reed was arrested and charged with reckless driving.
Pueblo Police Chief Daly suspended Officer Meyers while an investigation was conducted. Reed was brought into Municipal Court they morning of October 4, found guilty of reckless driving and fined the maximum of $300.00. Reed stated that he was driving away because he thought Butcher was shooting at him. Officer Meyers stated immediately after the shooting that he thought that Hinsdale had been hit by a shot from a rooming house on Northern Avenue, but detectives discounted that after investigation. It was determined that one of the rounds fired by Officer Meyers struck Officer Hinsdale. “Meyers also said he believed that Reed was attempting to escape from the law, and that he felt justified in shooting at the fleeing motorist.” The newspaper noted that both officers had just recently been appointed to the Pueblo police force and had not received their uniforms. Both officers were in plain clothes while working that day. It is not known if Officer Meyers kept his job with the Pueblo Police Dept.
Addison Oliver Hinsdale was born December 27, 1898, in Colorado. He had worked at the steel mill and then was a truck driver before becoming a police officer. He was survived by his pregnant wife Lavina, parents Addison O. and Annie Hinsdale, and sisters Delores, 19, and Hortense, 13. The funeral was held on Friday, October 8 at the family residence, 227 Jefferson Street, and then at St. Patrick’s Church. Burial was at Roselawn Cemetery, Pueblo Officers Osborn, Gwinn, Connors, Gray, Perkins, Bertagnolli and Jailer Olson served as pallbearers. The next day, October 9, Lavina gave birth to a daughter, Addie Arlene Hinsdale
EOW: 4 Oct 1920
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental)Sources:
Pueblo Police Department
The Pueblo Chieftain – October 4,5,6,8 & 12, 1920
Research Ancestry- Library Edition