Deputy Rudolph A Fischer

End of Watch : August 5, 1932

DEPUTY RUDOLPH A. FISCHER
Dakota County Sheriff's Office
Died August 5, 1932

On Friday, August 5th, at 2:00 a.m., Louis Fischer, Deputy Fischer's brother, discovered a burglary in progress at his Riverview Golf Clubhouse on Jefferson Highway in South St. Paul. He notified his brother and Deputy Joseph Heinan. The officer captured the suspects, Harold Wilder and Dewey Sharpe, and took them to the Hastings Jail. At 3:00 a.m., as they were being led into a cell, Wilder leaped on Deputy Heinan, took his gun and fired point blank at Fischer. Sharpe grabbed Fischer's gun and the two fled.

Henry Halberg saw the two men walk toward some cornfields, summoned the sheriff's office and four men responded. Standing up on a hill, they shot down on the cornfields at the two heads above the corn. Sharpe came out with his hands up and surrendered to Louis Fischer. His gun was recovered in the cornfield.

Wilder fled through the cornfield and was tracked by two hunters, Matt Karpen and Wayne Varien. At one point, he doubled back through a cornfield and passed within twenty feet of the two hunters. Wilder then got a drink of water at a house. Art Woodward, who owned the land in the area spotted him, drove toward the suspect and ordered him to surrender. Wilder went back into the cornfield and Woodard open fire with his 30-30 rifle, missing him. By this time, a posse had been formed, converged on the cornfield near Langdo and went up on hilly ground so they could see Wilder in the corn. About twelve shots were fired at him. Although none hit him, he surrendered. St. Paul Officers R. Roberts and H. O'Keefe took him into custody at 10:30 a.m. When Wilder asked how the man was that he shot, he was told he was all right.

On Friday night, a small car drove up in front of the jail and fired four shots into Wilder's cell, which was on street level. It was believed to be someone avenging the death of Fischer. After that, both suspects were held in an undisclosed location until they were sent to Stillwater Prison.

Both suspects had been out on bail at the time of the shooting. Wilder was being charged in an attempted extortion case and Sharpe on a federal liquor charge. Sharpe had also been arrested in Chicago on March 13, 1918, for murder. He was sentenced to 14 years for that crime.

The both confessed to the murder of Deputy Fischer and, on August 11th, were given life sentences in Stillwater.

Deputy Fischer left a wife and three small children: Clara, 7, Helen, 6, and Betty, 5. His funeral was held on Monday, August 8th, at St. Matthews Catholic Church in West St. Paul. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul.

Sourced from: The book "We Will Remember"
With permission from Lisa Lovering, Author and Board of Director
MN Law Enforcement Memorial Association
L.E.M.A. 2009

Harold Hagen

James G Harney