Joseph Hamilton Brown, Jr.

Wise County Sheriff's Office — Decatur, TX

Felonious

End of Watch January 27, 1933

The Vigil Panel 65 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 3

Incident

Deputy Joseph Brown was shot and killed while attempting to arrest suspects wanted for stealing an oil drum. Deputy Brown, also a barber in town, observed the men driving through the area and motioned for them to stop their vehicle. He brought all three men into his barbershop without searching them and sat them down as he called for backup. One of the men pulled out a pistol and attempted to force Deputy Brown to come with them. Deputy Brown resisted and pushed the suspect out of the door. As the suspect fell, he fired six shots, striking Deputy Brown in the neck. The shooter was never apprehended. The suspects were responsible for the murders of three other law enforcement officers before one of them was shot and killed, and the others were arrested. The other officers killed were: Deputy Harvey Bolin of Lamb County, Texas; Chief Deputy Thomas Jones of Lincoln County, New Mexico; and Deputy Harvey Bolin of Lamb County, Texas.

Survivors

Deputy Brown was survived by his wife and children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TX-B4BBC1FD
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Brown served with the Wise County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Decatur community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Brown.

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

Agency

Department Wise County Sheriff's Office

Location Decatur, TX

Platform Identity wcso.wise.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 27, 1933

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun

Offender Shot and killed

Deputy Sheriff Joseph Hamilton Brown, Jr. is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Wise County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 4 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 75% of this agency's fallen.

Wise County Sheriff's Office

of 4 officers

75% Felonious

TX — Statewide

1,463

of 2,421 officers

60.4% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious