Earl W. Truitt

Walker County Sheriff's Office — Jasper, AL

Felonious

End of Watch May 20, 1919

Age 48

The Vigil Panel 37 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 5

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Earl Truitt was shot and killed after being lured into an ambush by a family operating several stills on their property in the area of Drummond's Switch, near Empire, Alabama.

Several of the family members were to be indicted by a grand jury later in the day as the result of an investigation by Deputy Truitt in which he had discovered several stills. The head of the family lured him to the property in the morning with the ruse that they would show him the location of another still. As they walked along a field one of the man's sons shot Deputy Truitt from behind with a shotgun, killing him instantly.

The family members then buried Deputy Truitt's body in a pre-dug grave on the edge of their soybean field. They then reburied his body under a driveway several days later. One of the sons was arrested in Georgia one year later and confessed to the murder and the location of Deputy Truitt's body. His body was located. One of the sons was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Another was acquitted. The father and the remaining son fled the area for several years and were ultimately not successfully prosecuted due to the lapse of time and missing witnesses.

Deputy Truitt was survived by his wife.

Survivors

Deputy Truitt was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-AL-104AFFCE
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 Truitt served with the Walker County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Jasper community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Truitt.

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

Agency

Department Walker County Sheriff's Office

Location Jasper, AL

Platform Identity wcso.walker.al.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 20, 1919

Age 48

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Shotgun

Offender Sentenced to life

Deputy Sheriff Earl W. Truitt 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 AL, 405 of 643 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63% of this state's fallen. That is 8.8 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Walker County Sheriff's Office, 5 of 6 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 83.3% of this agency's fallen.

Walker County Sheriff's Office

of 6 officers

83.3% Felonious

AL — Statewide

405

of 643 officers

63% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious