History
Among its members were Sheriff Jack Helms of DeWitt County, Texas, who served as a captain. He was later killed by John Wesley Hardin during the Sutton-Taylor feud. Another notable member was Leander H. McNelly of the Texas Ranger Division. Outlaw William P. Longley claimed to have killed members of the Texas State Police in 1866–1869—even before it came into existence.
Despite the success of the State Police, the fact that the force employed African Americans and was controlled by Governor Davis made it unpopular. Some of the State Police members certainly deserved criticism. Captain Jack Helm, for instance, was accused of murdering prisoners; he was fired, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Others committed crimes for which the charges were dropped as soon as headquarters was advised. James Davidson, the Chief of the State Police, embezzled $37,000 and disappeared.
In September 1870 Hill County, Texas local citizens refused to cooperate with the TSP from moving against the Kinch West gang; in December 1870 Hill County citizens blocked the TSP from arresting the killers of an African-American couple.
Read more about this topic: Texas State Police
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of any nation follows an undulatory course. In the trough of the wave we find more or less complete anarchy; but the crest is not more or less complete Utopia, but only, at best, a tolerably humane, partially free and fairly just society that invariably carries within itself the seeds of its own decadence.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)