Officer Cal Palmer
July 8th, 1936
Forty-one years after
the first Enid Policeman died, the last one to give his life in the line
of duty, was murdered.
Police Officer Cal Palmer was a big,jovial
man with a ready smile. He had been an Enid Policeman for two years, coming
from Fairview, where he was a Major County Deputy Sheriff.
It had been a hot July in 1936, and Officer
Cal Palmer wasn't feeling very well. He had returned to duty at 4:00pm
that day, following a short vacation, and Officer Bert Utsler offered to
work for him. Palmer declined, saying he thought he would feel better after
the sun went down. The heat had been bothering him.
Around 11:00pm, July 8th, Jim O'Neal, a former
police officer who was operating the German Village beer parlor at the
corner of Broadway and Grand, noticed a man come in and take a seat
in a front booth. O'Neal had been tipped off earlier that his bar was going
to be robbed, so he was keeping an eye on his customers. The man ordered
a beer and a few moments
later, motioned for two girls outside the bar to join him. O'Neal kept
an eye on the man for a while and finally, feeling that he recognized the
man from pictures he had seen, decided to call police to check him out.
A few minutes later, Palmer and his partner, Officer Ralph Knarr, entered
the bar. After talking to O'Neal for a minute, they approached the booth
where the man was seated.
Palmer made conatct with the man and stated,
"Come, and go with us." The man asked Palmer if he could finish
his beer, adding, "I think I know what you want me for." Palmer
agreed. He finished the stein of beer while officers waited, then sat it
down on the table, and with the same movement, brought up a gun which had
been in the booth next to him, and started firing.
Palmer fell first, hit with three bullets,
the fatal one going into his heart and killing him instantly. Knarr then
fell, hit four times. Another subject was also hit in the leg by a stray
bullet. The killer then ran out the side door of the bar to the north.
He ran into the alley next to the Broadway Tower and raced up the alley
towards Randolph Street, pursued by the Night Chief Lelon Coyle and Officers
Ted Roberts, Phil Swyer, Earle Moore, and Carl Bundren.
Near the Max and Rex Cafe at the end of the
alley, he came upon a parked car occupied by Fred Caldwell and Dr. L.D.
Huff. He climbed into the rear seat of the car and told Caldwell, "You're
driving me. Get going quick". Caldwell put the car in gear and began
moving forward when he saw the officers coming towards him with guns pointing
at the car. Easing down into the seat, he and Huff opened the doors of
the car and dropped out, leaving the man in the car. Pointing towards the
car, Caldwell directed 
officers
to the man sitting in the back seat. Officers began firing at the car,
the killer jumped out and hid behind it. Police Officers fired nine shots
at the car, one of which hit the Killer in the head, apparently killing
him instantly.
The killer was later identified as Lawrence DeVol,
triggerman of the Karpis-Barker gang, who recently broken up when the Barkers
were killed in a shoot-out with federal police. DeVol had supposively killed
three other policemen.
The day after the shooting, police headquarters
was quiet.Palmer's funeral was held July 10th, in the chapel at Henninger-Allen
funeral home. More than 500 people attended the funeral. He was buried
with honors in Memorial Park Cemetery in Enid. Palmer, 38 years old, left
a wife and two sons.
Officer Ralph Knarr recovered from
his wounds and went on to become Chief of Police in Enid From 1943 until
1956.
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