N. P. "Doc" Thomas

Texas Rangers — Austin, TX

Felonious

End of Watch January 5, 1909

Age 49

The Vigil Panel 23 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 121

Incident

Between 1907-1909, the Texas Rangers were requested to enforce the prohibition laws in the Texas Panhandle because officials felt the local police and sheriff’s departments were not being diligent. A force of rangers, including Ranger Private N. P. “Doc” Thomas, shut down the bowery area of Amarillo, and arrested hundreds of bootleggers. This caused bad blood with the local police and sheriff’s departments. The rangers withdrew to other duties, but Thomas remained in Amarillo. The bootleggers started reopening for business as the rangers left town. Thomas told several people that he was a marked man and would never get out of Amarillo alive. Around 10 o’clock on Tuesday morning, January 5, 1909, Thomas was sitting in a chair in the county attorney’s office in Amarillo, the county seat of Potter County, with his leg up on the table talking to a local attorney about representing him in a dispute with the Potter County Sheriff’s Department. A man wanted for murder in Arkansas had been taken out of the county jail by Thomas and released to a deputy sheriff from Arkansas who took the prisoner back to Arkansas without any legal proceedings. Sheriff J. E. Hughes and his chief jailer, Deputy Sheriff James W. “Jim” Keeton were upset over the incident and confronted Thomas. Both Hughes and Keeton accused Thomas of involvement in the “kidnapping” of the prisoner. The local attorney left the room, and he heard Keeton call Thomas a liar. Keeton shot Thomas above the right eye. Thomas was found with his hands in his lap, his head hanging back over the chair. Thomas’ .45 caliber pistol was still in the scabbard. The sheriff, who had just walked out of the room, returned and Keeton surrendered to him. Thomas lingered for one hour before dying from his wound in the room where the shooting occurred. There were no eye witnesses to the actual shooting. N. P. “Doc” Thomas was buried in the Springtown Cemetery in Wise County. He had been a deputy sheriff in Parker County, joined Company

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TX-06100233
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Private Thomas served with the Texas Rangers.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Private Thomas.

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

Agency

Department Texas Rangers

Type Other

Location Austin, TX

Platform Identity tr.travis.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 5, 1909

Age 49

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun

Private N. P. "Doc" Thomas is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,460 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.3% of this state's fallen. That is 60.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Texas Rangers, 104 of 122 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 85.2% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Rangers

104

of 122 officers

85.2% Felonious

TX — Statewide

1,460

of 2,421 officers

60.3% Felonious

Nationwide

of 97,756 officers

0% Felonious