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, 1870Ann 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 On April 22, 1873, the law authorizing the state police was repealed by the newly elected Democrat controlled state legislature.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 ...

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

; 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.

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