Willis Wood Sides
Agency patch
Officer

Willis Wood Sides

Dallas Police Department — Dallas, TX
Felonious
End of Watch February 7, 1951
Age 22
Tour of Duty 3 mo
Badge 337
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Johnny Sides succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained on January 22nd, 1951, when he was shot after he and his partner stopped a vehicle for running a red light near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Fourth Avenue. As they approached the vehicle the four men opened fire on them, striking Officer Sides in his abdomen and wounding his partner. The suspects were arrested two days later in Arkansas after a county sheriff used a rock to subdue them. The men were suspects for the December 1950 wounding of a Mississippi Department of Public Safety trooper. All four men were convicted of murdering Officer Sides. One, 21, and his 32-year-old uncle were executed; one on March 12, 1952, and the other on April 9, 1952. On June 27, 1951, the other two men, 19 and 23, were sentenced 99 years each. Officer Sides had served with the Dallas Police Department for three months.

Survivors

He was survived by his parents, brother, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Sides served with the Dallas Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Dallas community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Sides.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Dallas, Collin County, TX
Platform Identity dpd.dallas.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 7, 1951
Tour of Duty 3 mo
Age 22
Badge Number 337
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Willis is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1951, 65 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 113th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Willis was 22. Of the 14,219 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Willis had served 0.2 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

February holds 7.4% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Wednesdays: 12.9%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Dallas Police Department has 95 officers remembered here, Willis among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Officer Willis Wood Sides

Dallas Police Department · End of Watch February 7, 1951

Where the Name Is Cut

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