Humboldt Officer Added to Law Enforcement Memorial 100 Years Later
HUMBOLDT, Tenn. – A Humboldt police officer is finally being honored after he was killed in the line of duty nearly 100 years ago. William Easley Blakemore is one of 321 fallen police officers from across the country whose names were added to a memorial in Washington, D.C., as part of National Police Week. To many in Humboldt, Blakemore’s death was just a myth – not anymore. “When I worked here back in the ’90s, everybody had heard stories about an officer that had been killed in the line of duty years ago,” said Gibson patrolman Terry Sumner, who used to work for the Humboldt police department. It turned out to be true, thanks to the work of Sumner and some Humboldt police officers, who were just trying to update the police exhibit at Humboldt’s Strawberry Festival/Historical Museum. “Once we figured out who he was, and had some dates, and once were actually able to locate some kind of documentation, ’cause not a whole lot of it survived over time,” Sumner said. “Once we found that, it wasn’t hard to put it together.” Blakemore was killed on February 10, 1914. He was trying to question a suspicious man who just got to town, when he was shot in the neck. Now he will be remembered forever on the police memorial for that sacrifice. His family is grateful. “I think anybody that does something like that deserves to be added up there, and I’m real proud, real proud for him,” said relative Virginia Blakemore. And Sumner said he is just proud to have been a part of it. “With all the myths and the stories floating around, just the thought of a brother officer being killed in the line of duty like that, and not being remembered, it was just unacceptable,” Sumner said. “Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or like in this case, 100 years ago, it’s just…something needed to be done about it.” Blakemore said even though she will not be able to see the memorial for herself anytime soon, she hopes to some day.
