Officer John Schultz

End of Watch : February 26, 1926

OFFICER JOHN SCHULTZ
St. Paul PD
Died February 23, 1926

On February 23, 1926, at 3:30 a.m., Mrs. Thomas Cameron and her daughter, Sadie, heard loud talking and three shots outside their home at 889 Laurel Avenue in St. Paul. They went to the window and saw Officer Fred A. Pietsch lying near the curb, suffering from bullet wounds. Officer John Schultz, who was shot through the back and was trying to get to the squad to get a shotgun, had collapsed near the middle of the road. As the women watched in horror, a gunman walked over to Schultz and fired a few inches away from his head. He then walked over to Pietsch and did the same. After checking to see that they were dead, he got into a black car and left the scene. Pietsch had been shot a total of eight times; Schultz, three.

The officers' car was later found parked on the left side of the street with two sawed off shotguns and a revolver left in the car. It was believed the officers might have known the gunmen who were possibly bootleggers and the officers were known to be strict in enforcing the dry laws.

At the time of his death, Officer Pietsch was 37 years old. He had been with the department since June 11th, 1917. He was survived by his wife, Anna, and two daughters, Anna, 10, and Lorraine, 6.

Officer Schultz was 30 years old and was survived by his wife of four years, Theresa. She learned of the shooting from Schultz's sister who saw it in the paper and called her. Both widows received benefits of $10 a month. Officer Schultz had become an officer on June 16th, 1919, and had been put on night shift just four days prior to the incident.

The suspects were arrested on Thursday, February 25th, in Menomonee, Wisconsin. They were Virgil Baker, 26, L.P. Ovett, 25, and Merrill Beards, 20. Ironically, the officers' funerals were being held at the time of the arrests. Schultz's funeral was held at 9:00 a.m. at St. Adelbuts Church at Charles and Gaultier Streets. Officer Pietsch's funeral was held at St. Paul's Evangelical Church at 2:00 p.m. Officer Schultz was buried in Calvary Cemetery and Officer Pietsch was buried in Roselawn Cemetery.

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

Fred A Pietsch

Calbert H Leedom