Roll of Honor
Richard D. Griffin
Incident
Federal Prohibition Agent Richard Griffin was shot and killed while raiding a still near Gadsden, Alabama. He and two other agents had arrested five of several men during the raid. Agent Griffin was shot as he began to chase one of the men who attempted to escape. The other four then bolted from the other two agents and opened fire along with others on all three agents. The other agents returned fire. Agent Griffin crawled to a place of safety and hid while the other two agents, running low on bullets, were forced to retreat to their car. They went to Gadsden an quickly returned with a doctor and several law officers and men. Agent Griffin was found with two gunshot wounds and died as he was being driven to a hospital. Within a few hours, six brothers, their father, and another man were arrested. An investigation revealed that the brother who ran from Agent Griffin shot him one time and possibly the second time, but one of the others could have also fired the second shot. No one was ever charged with murder. In June of 1921 five of the brothers, ages 20 to 38, and the other man were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to two years each in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. All six were released on February 23, 1923.
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- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Federal Prohibition Agent Griffin served with the United States Department of the Treasury.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Federal Prohibition Agent Griffin.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Federal Prohibition Agent Richard D. Griffin 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 97,772 officers honored here.
In DC, 754 of 1,418 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.2% of this state's fallen. That is 53.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Prohibition Unit, 47 of 59 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 79.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard D. Griffin's cause is highlighted.
How Richard D. Griffin Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Richard D. Griffin is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Richard D. Griffin was killed by gun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
58 officers from United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Prohibition Unit are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
