Author: Tony Perrin

Tony is a native of the Arkansas Ozarks. He started in law enforcement in 1976, and worked for two municipal police departments. In his last job, Tony worked as a State Park Officer for 32 years. Tony was a Firearms Instructor at two of the agencies, and received an FBI letter of Commendation for his role in the capture of an FBI Top Ten fugitive. Tony has researched and documented line of duty deaths in Arkansas for over 25 years, has served as a historical consultant to the U.S Marshal's Service since 1983, and has served as a guest curator at the Old State House Museum, for the award-winning exhibit, "Badges, Bandits & Bars: Arkansas Law & Justice." Tony has been a speaker, for over 30 years, on the History of Crime & Law Enforcement to museums, civic organizations, historical societies and law enforcement groups. He has also appeared on The History Channel, in "The History of the U. S. Marshal's Service." Tony is a Life Member of the NRA and a dedicated revolver aficionado! He does have a couple of Browning Hi Powers, though!

The Day that Two Men, Who Traveled Life’s Road on Both Sides of Good and Bad, Collided with Fatal Results

As folks travel down the road of life, it is an interesting journey with many experiences and emotions.  It also has many issues in the journey that force us to choose between right and wrong.  No one can claim a 100% journey on the side of good.  There is only one man who lived a perfect life.

In the early days of law enforcement in this country there were many examples of individuals who had both worn a badge and committed crimes.  Our two principal fellows in this story illustrate the old saying that sometimes it takes one, to catch one. Continue reading “The Day that Two Men, Who Traveled Life’s Road on Both Sides of Good and Bad, Collided with Fatal Results”

The Day Politics Started a Gunfight Between the Police and Sheriff’s Departments in Hot Springs

Members of the Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department shot and killed each other on the main drag of this resort town, in this crazy episode from the late -19th Century. Continue reading “The Day Politics Started a Gunfight Between the Police and Sheriff’s Departments in Hot Springs”

The Days That Communities Fought Back Against Evil

There’s no shortage of stories about crime and criminals on the nightly news, these days. It seems we’re currently trapped in a cycle of violent criminal activity, with the bad guys holding communities all over our nation, hostage.

We’ve seen this problem before in America, especially during that span of time from the “Old West” through the Great Depression, which was filled with criminal activity. Continue reading “The Days That Communities Fought Back Against Evil”

The Day Edward O’Kelly Picked a Fight with the Wrong Police Officer

Or . . . The Day the Man, Who Killed the Man Who Killed Jesse James, Picked a Fight with the Wrong Oklahoma Police Officer

Jesse Woodson James was born on the 5th of September, 1847 and was a happy arrival for his parents and older brother, Alexander Franklin (“Frank”) James.  None of the family ever dreamed that Jesse would become one of the most notorious American outlaws ever. Continue reading “The Day Edward O’Kelly Picked a Fight with the Wrong Police Officer”

The Day the Barkers Brought Death to the Ozarks

Mike recently asked me about the volume of notorious crimes in Arkansas. Our state’s history is rich with stories about politicians, desperados, gunslingers of all sorts, feuds, mass murders, war reconstruction, Wild West and Depression Era outlaws, and modern monsters. Continue reading “The Day the Barkers Brought Death to the Ozarks”

Book Review: AWOL at Crook’s Cabin

All of us receive gifts, traits, habits and instructions from our parents. The best gift my mother gave me long ago centers around books. She introduced me to the Bible. She used a large, bible with many colorful illustrations and beyond that she also gave me the gifts of reading and a love of history. Continue reading “Book Review: AWOL at Crook’s Cabin”

The Day the Arkansas State Police Fought a Gun Battle with a Remnant of the Barrow Gang

Renowned Texas Ranger, Frank Hamer, and five other officers stopped the Barrows—permanently–on a country road outside Gibsland, Louisiana on May 23, 1934.  Three years later, in 1937, one of the country’s great state police organizations was reorganized as the Arkansas State Police (ASP).

So, if the Barrows were killed in a shooting by Hamer and his fellow officers in 1934, how did the newborn ASP get into a gunfight with a remnant of the Barrow Gang, many years later? Continue reading “The Day the Arkansas State Police Fought a Gun Battle with a Remnant of the Barrow Gang”

The Day America’s Love Affair with Criminals Ended . . .

. . . (at least in that era), Thanks to a Horrific Assault on Law and Order.

If you have studied the history of criminal justice in America, you may have noticed a pendulum effect where public approval of criminals and criminality appears to move from one extreme to the other.

Continue reading “The Day America’s Love Affair with Criminals Ended . . .”

The Day a Crime Spree Ended in Hardy, Arkansas . . .

. . . Thanks To Two Brave Men, With a Rock and a .44 Special

The Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce (DJCC) is an organization of young professionals who are engaged in networking and community involvement. They have supported the city through numerous events and activities, since 1918.

One of the Chamber’s activities is especially dear to law enforcement and the law-abiding citizens they serve, because it memorializes the February 7, 1951 line-of-duty death of Dallas Police Department Officer Willis Wood “Johnny” Sides, who was slain just 21 days after graduating from the police academy, as fifth in his class. Continue reading “The Day a Crime Spree Ended in Hardy, Arkansas . . .”