Charles M. Cole

Deputy Cole and Deputy James Smith were shot and killed while attempting to serve warrants on a father and son involved in a previous murder. When the two deputies approached the family's home the suspects opened fire, killing both deputies. The previous murder was at the strike where Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff B. W. Pearce was killed on July 15. Both suspects fled into nearby hills where the father was located by a posse. He was later tried for murder and acquitted. The son gave himself up to the Birmingham Police on May 7, 1897. In 1898 the charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.