Leander H. McNelly: Difference between revisions

On July 1, 1870, Governor [[Edmund J. Davis]] organized a [[Texas State Police]] force, naming McNelly one of its four&nbsp;captains. The new police force had an inauspicious start, as its first director promptly ran away with $34,000. Many of the officers were accused of killing prisoners and harassing voters. In his most visible job as part of the State Police, McNelly was assigned to [[Walker County, Texas|Walker County]]. AAn NegroAfrican-American man named Sam Jenkins had been murdered after telling a [[grand jury]] that he had been flogged. McNelly investigated the crime and arrested four men, one of whom was immediately released. The other three had smuggled weapons, and they opened fire as McNelly was returning them to jail. McNelly was wounded, and in a newspaper interview he later castigated the local sheriff for not finding the weapons. McNelly was also unhappy with Davis, who had promptly declared martial law. The State Police force was abolished on April 22, 1873.<ref>Davis (1985), p. 106.</ref>