Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Wilbur Edwards was shot and killed by a subject without provocation.
He was visiting with merchants, asking them to leave their lights on at night for better protection. As he stood in the driveway of a service station he was approached by the owner and shot twice in the head and then twice in the body with a .22-caliber pistol. The subject was arrested and charged with his murder.
The 62-year-old suspect was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 1925 he was sentenced to 20 years for a murder conviction in DeQueen, Arkansas, but received a full pardon without having to serve any time.
Chief Edwards was a U.S. Army veteran of WWII. He had served with the United States Border Patrol, Brownsville Police Department and Corpus Christi Police Department before becoming the chief of the Taft Police Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-16D52F1D- 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.
Police Chief Edwards served with the Taft Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Taft 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
Wilbur Frank Edwards served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Police Chief Wilbur Frank Edwards 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 TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 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. Wilbur Frank Edwards's cause is highlighted.
How Wilbur Frank Edwards Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to life
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Wilbur Frank Edwards is highlighted in Jul.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Wilbur Frank Edwards was killed by handgun; .22 caliber.