The Texas Special Police were formed, along with the
Texas State Police
The Texas State Police (TSP) was created following the Civil War by order of Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis. The TSP worked primarily against racially based crimes in Texas, and included black police officers. It was replaced by a renewed Texas ...
, during the
Reconstruction Era administration of Texas.
[The Governor's Hounds The Texas State Police, 1870–1873 By Barry A. Crouch and Donaly E. Brice, University of Texas Press; Reprint edition (December 1, 2012), and ] to combat crime statewide in Texas.
History
Governor
Edmund J. Davis, in order to combat crime statewide in Texas, formed the Texas Special Police on July 22, 1870
[Ann Patton Baenziger, "The Texas State Police during Reconstruction: A Reexamination," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 72 (April 1969)] There were 30
Special Police Officers
Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties.
Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
(SPO) assigned as auxiliary officers throughout the state.
On April 22, 1873, the law authorizing the state police was repealed by the newly elected Democrat controlled state legislature.
Mission
The Texas Special Police was formed with the purpose of lending assistance to law enforcement agencies in the state of Texas.
Engagements
On Friday, October 6, 1871, Special Policemen Green Paramore and John Lackey went to a general store in
Nopal
Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads.
There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it i ...
in
Gonzales County
Gonzales County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, adjacent to Greater Austin-San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,653. The county is named for its county seat, the city of Gonzales. The county was created in 1836 a ...
to arrest the outlaw
John Wesley Hardin. SPO Paramore went inside and SPO Lackey stayed at the back door. Paramore told Hardin he was under arrest and demanded his two pistols. Hardin handed the pistols to him butt first, and then did a border roll, whirling the pistols and shooting Paramore in the head, killing him instantly. Officer Lackey opened fire but Hardin shot him four times before fleeing. Lackey survived his wounds. Hardin was indicted, arrested but escaped jail and was never convicted for the murder of Officer Paramore or the shooting of Officer Lackey.
Notable members
* Sheriff
Jack Helm of
Gonzales County
Gonzales County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, adjacent to Greater Austin-San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,653. The county is named for its county seat, the city of Gonzales. The county was created in 1836 a ...
; Texas Special Police officer, 1869–1870; later killed by
John Wesley Hardin during the
Sutton–Taylor feud.
Line of Duty deaths
Green Paramore, was the only Texas Special Police officer killed in the line of duty. He was shot down by
John Wesley Hardin Paramore was survived by his wife and three children.
See also
*
List of law enforcement agencies in Texas
*
Special police
Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consiste ...
References
Notes
*
Bibliography
* Barry A. Crouch and Donaly E. Brice, "The Governor's Hounds The Texas State Police, 1870–1873", University of Texas Press; Original 2011 and Reprint edition (December 1, 2012), and
* Ann Patton Baenziger, "The Texas State Police during Reconstruction: A Reexamination," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 72 (April 1969).
* William T. Field, Jr., "The Texas State Police, 1870–1873," Texas Military History 5 (Fall 1965).
{{Portal bar, Texas
Defunct law enforcement agencies of Texas
History of Texas
1870 establishments in Texas