End of Watch December 17, 1886
Age 34
The Vigil Panel 9 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Frank West was shot and killed by an intoxicated man at a dance near the Canadian River. The man had approached Officer West and accused him of killing his horse. He then pulled out a handgun and shot Deputy West in the neck. Officer West was able to return fire, fatally wounding the suspect. The suspect's wife was Belle Starr, who who an accomplice of the Younger Gang. The Younger Gang was involved in the deaths of Deputy Charles Nichols and Deputy James McMahan of the Dallas County Texas Sheriff's Department in 1871 and Deputy Edwin Daniels of the St. Clair County Missouri Sheriff's Department in 1874. A relative of the suspect killed United States Deputy Marshal Floyd Wilson in 1892. Officer West was survived by a wife and two children. He is buried in McClure Cemetery in Briartown, Oklahoma.

Survivors

Officer West was survived by a wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

140 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Police Officer West served with the United States Department of the Interior.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Federal Agency
Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdibiaojsfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 17, 1886
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Frank is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1886, 51 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 139th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Frank was 34. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

December holds 9.4% of these deaths in the United States, more than any other month. Fridays: 14.3%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

United States Department of the Interior - Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services has 52 officers remembered here, Frank among them.

Across the years

Police Officer Frank West

United States Department of the Interior - Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services · End of Watch December 17, 1886

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 29-E

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