Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Zeek Boyles, Chief Deputy Washington Bennett, and Chief of Police Leonard Floyd, of the Boaz Police Department, were shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant at a farmhouse on a man for assault with intent to kill a neighbor. As the three other deputies and another deputy reached the suspect's farmhouse, he came out with a rifle, firing rapidly at the officers as they were getting out of their car. All four returned fire, killing the man. As the man fell, his 16-year-old son grabbed the rifle. Firing rapidly from the hip, he brought down all four lawmen. Chief Floyd was shot in the back, never drawing his weapon. Sheriff Boyles was shot in his right hand, shattering the butt of of his gun and then fatally struck in his side, killing him instantly. Chief Deputy Bennett shot through the left temple, the bullet exiting his right jaw, managed to get the seriously wounded deputy into the car, and drove into Boaz, sounding the alarm. Chief Deputy Bennett died in a hospital three hours later. The boy and two men in the home were arrested and charged with three counts of murder. The wounded deputy said shots not only came from the youth, but also from two windows. Yet charges against the two men were dropped. Only the youth was tried for murder. Over the next two years, four trials ended with hung juries. Just as the fifth trial was about to begin, a plea bargain resulted in a 10-year sentence. He was paroled on December 24, 1957. Sheriff Boyles had just been elected to his third term as sheriff of the Marshall County Sheriff's Office and served in law enforcement for 20 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and a grandson.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AL-CA83A2BC- 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
20 years. You could have gone home.
Sheriff Boyles gave the Marshall County Sheriff's Office 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Guntersville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Boyles.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff E. M. "Zeke" Boyles 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 Marshall County Sheriff's Dept., 4 of 7 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 57.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. E. M. "Zeke" Boyles's cause is highlighted.
How E. M. "Zeke" Boyles Compares
Offender Outcome
warrant
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. E. M. "Zeke" Boyles is highlighted in May.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. E. M. "Zeke" Boyles was killed by rifle; .32 caliber carbine.
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Marshall County Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
