June 30, 1879: The Tragic Tale of Officer Phippenney

(PUEBLO, Colo.) — On this day in 1879, Pueblo Police Officer Alvin Phippenney was shot and killed in the line of duty, and his story is like something out of an old Western.

On the morning of June 30, 1879, Officer Phippenney entered John Schwer’s Arkansas Hall Saloon on Santa Fe Avenue just after noon. A rancher named John Baxter and another man, James Moore, were armed and drinking. They were causing a riot, so Officer Phippenney was asked to silence them.

Rancher Baxter refused to surrender his gun to Officer Phippenney and the two became involved in a physical altercation. Shots rang out in the living room and the officer was hit. The shot in the back proved fatal, but he managed to identify his killers.

The jury heard from over a dozen witnesses and determined that Officer Phippenney was killed by a gunshot fired by Moore or Baxter. Incredibly, both suspects escaped. Baxter escaped from the sheriff who was guarding him, and Moore was aided in his escape by a rancher on the day of the shooting. None of them were ever found or brought to justice.

Officer Alvin Phippenney was only 32 years old and a widower with five children. He was to remarry on the evening of his death. Historian Keith Dameron records that the funeral took place on Tuesday, July 1 at 4:00 p.m., with Pueblo’s police chief stating that it was “one of the largest ever seen in the city… the procession included approximately 30 vehicles, all well packed “.

On Sunday, June 30, the Pueblo Police Department posted Phippenney’s story on its X account to honor his memory and sacrifice 145 years later.