Flagler County sheriff honors first law enforcement officer killed in Flagler

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly Wednesday unveiled a memorial plaque in honor of Sheriff Perry Hall, who nearly a century ago was the first law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in the county.

It was during prohibition. And the killer's weapon was related to the times: a liquor bottle.

The search for Hall's murderer would lead to the death of another deputy within three days.

Staly unveiled the memorial at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Center, the county jail named in Hall's honor.

Staly, who noted that last week was National Correctional Officers and Employees Week, said it was a time to recognize the hard work of correctional officers.

"The men and women that work behind these walls are true, brave, unsung and unseen heroes serving our communities," Staly said.

Then Staly talked about Hall to a group of law enforcement officers and some politicians who had gathered for the event. Staly told Hall's story by the plaque placed next to the jail, which Staly sometimes refers to as the "Green Roof Inn"

"For his sacrifice to the community, Sheriff Hall's name will always be remembered," Staly said during the ceremony.

Hall was born in Putnam County in 1885 and was elected as the second sheriff of Flagler County in 1924 when he was 39, Staly said.

In January 1927, Hall captured four moonshine runners and seized 50 cases of whiskey along with three cars, Staly said. Hall also worked on smaller cases, including cattle-rustling.

During his time as sheriff, the agency had two bloodhounds and Hall quickly put the dogs to work searching for bandits who robbed the Flagler Beach Post Office in August 1927.

“Little did he know that would be his last big case serving as Flagler County sheriff,” Staly said.

Hall died Aug. 21, 1927.

The day before his death, Hall was conducting a prohibition raid on an illegal liquor operation in an area known as "Roy" in northwest Flagler County.

Hall was trying to arrest a man when the man struck him in the head with a whiskey bottle, Staly said.

Flagler County did not have a hospital, so Hall was rushed to St. Augustine. But he never regained consciousness.

Five hundred people, nearly the entire population of the county at time, attended Hall's funeral, Staly said.

Hall's attacker, Jim Smith, managed to escape to Georgia.

A posse of more than 200 men searched the woods in three counties for the attacker, who said he would not be taken alive.

Twenty one days after Hall's slaying, an armed posse tracked Smith down in a home in Georgia. Smith tried to flee and was shot and killed during the arrest attempt.

Search for killer leads to second deputy's death

The search for Hall's killer led to the death of a second Flagler County lawman.

Flagler County Deputy Sheriff George Walter "Son" Durrance saw a man who fit the killer's description and told him to put up his hands. But the man was a night watchman for a post office and thought Durrance was going to rob him. The man fired his shotgun at Durrance. Durrance fired at the man. Both were hit but Durrance died of his wounds.

"In a case of mistaken identity, they both shot at each other and Deputy Durrance died," Staly said during the ceremony.

Durrance was white. The night watchman, who was Black, was being held in the Flagler County jail when he was killed by an angry white mob, Staly told the News-Journal in a previous interview in 2018.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Sheriff honors late Sheriff Perry Hall, killed in line of duty