Roll of Honor
James Jebty "J.J." Pipes
Incident
Special Officer James Pipes was shot and killed in Houston, Texas, while protecting railroad property and employees during a strike.
Shortly after midnight, as the special officers were being escorted into the railroad shop enclosure near the Hardy Street crossing, a crowd of about 100 strikers surged around them to dissuade the men whom they believed to be strikebreakers from going to work. Railroad special officers were stationed inside and outside the enclosure. As Special Officer Pipes entered the shop yard gate he was shot and instantly killed. Three other officers were wounded and injured during the incident.
One of the wounded officers said the shots came from inside the rail yard by guards who mistakenly believed the special officers were strikers trying to enter the yard. The official company report stated the guns used by the special officers were of a larger caliber than the .32 caliber bullets that killed Officer Pipes. The local justice of the peace conducted an investigation and held that the shots most likely came from company guards inside the yard.
Officer Pipes was survived by his wife, daughter, and son. He was buried in the Athens City Cemetery.
Survivors
Officer Pipes was survived by his wife, daughter, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-BC333F71- 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.
Special Officer Pipes served with the Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Officer Pipes.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Officer James Jebty "J.J." Pipes is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 39.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department, 8 of 23 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 34.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Jebty "J.J." Pipes's cause is highlighted.
How James Jebty "J.J." Pipes Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Jebty "J.J." Pipes is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
22 officers from Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
