Roll of Honor
Incident
Posseman Frank Gartman was shot and killed while trying to apprehend a group of prisoners who escaped the Cummins Prison Farm in Arkansas.
A posse was formed when the escapees kidnapped three area high school students. Just before midnight, Posseman Gartman and another posse member approached a vehicle that was on the side of the road with a flat tire in Columbia east of the Ouachita River. As they moved towards the car, a shootout began. The hostages shouted to stop shooting since the escapees had guns pointed at their backs. However, the convicts fired at them, and Posseman Gartman was hit and died immediately. The convicts fled on foot into the pecan orchard using their hostages as a shield.
The next day, they found one of the convicts in a gulley a quarter mile away. Before he could fire, he was shot and killed by posse members. He was the escapee who had shot and killed Trustee Guard Claude Martin. Four convicts hid throughout the pecan orchard and the swamp area. They negotiated the release of their hostages when they became hungry and thirsty. The four men were convicted of murder and hanged. Another convict was found by law enforcement and was shot and killed when he would not surrender.
Posseman Gartman was a World War I veteran.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, daughter, father, two brothers, and three sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-LA-3ECE5FFE- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Posseman Gartman served with the Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Columbia community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Frank C. Gartman served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Posseman Frank C. Gartman 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 LA, 364 of 595 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 61.2% of this state's fallen. That is 7 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frank C. Gartman's cause is highlighted.
How Frank C. Gartman Compares
Offender Outcome
Shot and killed, Executed
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Frank C. Gartman is highlighted in Sep.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Frank C. Gartman was killed by gun; unknown type.