Remember Sheriff Buford Pusser? They just dug up his wife after 57 years.

[jimintoronto]

The Wife of the former Sheriff of McNairy County Tennessee, who was shot and killed on August the 12th of 1967, was recently exhumed by agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. The TIB had received a tip that the original investigation into her death in 1967 did not include an autopsy. On that day in 1967, Sheriff Pusser and his Wife Pauline were both riding in his car as they drove towards a call about a disturbance. The car was travelling south on US highway 45, close to the Tennessee Mississippi State line. Somebody fired 14 shots at their car, hitting it 11 times. 14 30 caliber rounds from a military rifle were recovered from the roadside ditch. Sheriff Pusser was wounded in the neck, but he survived. His Wife was shot in the head and died in the car.

Sheriff Pusser later died in a car wreck. He was driving his personal car, a Chevrolet Corvette, at a high rate of speed, estimated to have been in excess of 100 mph, when the car swerved and rolled over several times. The Tennessee State Police accident unit measured the skid marks as being more than 600 feet long.

For those that do not live in the USA, you need to understand that a County Sheriff is an elected position, and many Sheriffs have little or no formal law enforcement training. County Sheriffs are as much a political position as they are a law enforcement job.

Two motion pictures have been made about Buford Pusser. One starred Joe Don Baker, and it was called " Walk Tall " a more recent2004 film starring "the Rock " Dwayne Johnson did not mention Buford Pusser by name, and it was set in Washington State, not Tennessee.

Here is a link .

MSN JIMB>

 

[Colleen]

After so many years, what does it matter? Anyone involved would be either really old or dead. What's their reasoning for investigating this now?

 

[jimintoronto]

After so many years, what does it matter? Anyone involved would be either really old or dead. What's their reasoning for investigating this now?

If you read the link I provided, the State Police received information that, in 1967 there was no autopsy performed. Go back and re-read the link.

 

[hollydolly]

Wow I was 12 years old....

 

[oldaunt]

If you read the link I provided, the State Police received information that, in 1967 there was no autopsy performed. Go back and re-read the link.

Again, why? Seems a bullet to the head would be a pretty obvious cause of death.

 

[Lilac]

For those that do not live in the USA, you need to understand that a County Sheriff is an elected position, and many Sheriffs have little or no formal law enforcement training. County Sheriffs are as much a political position as they are a law enforcement job.

The Sheriff is an elected position in the States, however, the little or no formal LE training is no more. This definitely changed in Ohio around the mid-1980s. I'm sure it has in other states, if not most, over the years too.

In Ohio, the law changed & required all 88 Sheriff's (and Police Chiefs as well) in Ohio had to go through & pass Ohio Peace Officer's Training Academy if they hadn't already done so. I don't remember how many it affected at the time, but it didn't affect as many as you thought. The ones that was affected went through to comply with the law & kept their jobs. The few who refused & thought they'd still keep their jobs found themselves unemployed.

Since then, the Ohio law has been revised over the years. Most Sheriff's have come up through the ranks of the county they've been elected to starting out as a deputy. Some even started out as a civilian correction officer who went through the academy to be certified & then hired as a deputy. Even though they are elected to the office, it is an election by the people of that county.

Police Chiefs are not elected, but are voted on & appointed by the elected officials of the city, village or township. It's much more of a political office than you think it is & much more than that of the Sheriff. Police Chiefs are not beholden to the people, but to the elected officials who appoint them. Some cities got around the certification by having a Director of Police which isn't the same a Police Chief. If I'm not mistaken, that loophole was closed & can't happen now in Ohio.

 

[Nathan]

Most police agencies that I know of in Southern California have leadership that's come up through the ranks.

 

[MrPants]

A bit puzzling. They say they received a 'tip' but didn't say what the tip related to. Can't understand what they hope to find doing an autopsy on skeletal remains all these years later. Even if the bullet was lodged in her head when buried and now in the coffin somewhere, what does that really tell them anything other than it matches the casings they found at the time of the shooting.

Wonder if there'll be any follow up news postings about this after the autopsy is complete.

 

[jimintoronto]

The Sheriff is an elected position in the States, however, the little or no formal LE training is no more. This definitely changed in Ohio around the mid-1980s. I'm sure it has in other states, if not most, over the years too.

In Ohio, the law changed & required all 88 Sheriff's (and Police Chiefs as well) in Ohio had to go through & pass Ohio Peace Officer's Training Academy if they hadn't already done so. I don't remember how many it affected at the time, but it didn't affect as many as you thought. The ones that was affected went through to comply with the law & kept their jobs. The few who refused & thought they'd still keep their jobs found themselves unemployed.

Since then, the Ohio law has been revised over the years. Most Sheriff's have come up through the ranks of the county they've been elected to starting out as a deputy. Some even started out as a civilian correction officer who went through the academy to be certified & then hired as a deputy. Even though they are elected to the office, it is an election by the people of that county.

Police Chiefs are not elected, but are voted on & appointed by the elected officials of the city, village or township. It's much more of a political office than you think it is & much more than that of the Sheriff. Police Chiefs are not beholden to the people, but to the elected officials who appoint them. Some cities got around the certification by having a Director of Police which isn't the same a Police Chief. If I'm not mistaken, that loophole was closed & can't happen now in Ohio.

I was talking about rural Tennessee fifty plus years ago, when Buford Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County. Another Tennesse County with a terrible record of law enforcement corruption was Hazard County. Yes there really is a Hazard County, in Tennessee, just like in the comedy TV show. Jimb.

 

[Murrmurr]

After so many years, what does it matter? Anyone involved would be either really old or dead. What's their reasoning for investigating this now?

If you read the link I provided, the State Police received information that, in 1967 there was no autopsy performed. Go back and re-read the link.

The article doesn't explain the goal of an autopsy 57yrs later.

Investigators obviously had other projectiles to look at, what with the Sheriff and his car being shot up. Since the wife had a bullet in her head, an autopsy would have been an unnecessary formality then. And since taxpayers cover the cost of autopsies in criminal cases, it's an unnecessary expense now.

 

[Murrmurr]

Most police agencies that I know of in Southern California have leadership that's come up through the ranks.

As far as I know, no one has been elected to the office of Sheriff who didn't have prior experience in law enforcement.

 

[Murrmurr]

A bit puzzling. They say they received a 'tip' but didn't say what the tip related to. Can't understand what they hope to find doing an autopsy on skeletal remains all these years later. Even if the bullet was lodged in her head when buried and now in the coffin somewhere, what does that really tell them anything other than it matches the casings they found at the time of the shooting.

Wonder if there'll be any follow up news postings about this after the autopsy is complete.

And there's no mention of bullet casings being found, but the car was shot up a bunch, and the Sheriff took one in the neck.
So a bullet still lodged in the Missus's head won't add any new information.

 

[papa tiger]

The Sheriff is elected, his brother sells White Lightning. haha Dry counties.

 

[MrPants]

And there's no mention of bullet casings being found, but the car was shot up a bunch, and the Sheriff took one in the neck.
So a bullet still lodged in the Missus's head won't add any new information.

You're right. When I read about the 14 30 Caliber rounds found in the ditch I mistakenly thought bullet casings because there were apparently 14 bullets fired at the car with 11 hitting it (although I don't know how they know that. They could count the bullet holes from the 11 that hit the car but how did they know 3 bullets missed the car unless they found them somewhere around the scene.)

 

[Lilac]

I was talking about rural Tennessee fifty plus years ago, when Buford Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County. Another Tennesse County with a terrible record of law enforcement corruption was Hazard County. Yes there really is a Hazard County, in Tennessee, just like in the comedy TV show. Jimb.

You hadn't specified it was during Pusser's era. It sounded as if it was still going on today.

 

[jimintoronto]

You hadn't specified it was during Pusser's era. It sounded as if it was still going on today.

Police corruption is alive and well in Coffee City Texas. A village with a population of 250 people has a fifty person Police department. Read this link. The Small Texas Town With 50 Cops and Only 250 Residents The Chief of the Coffee City Texas Police department has been seen in uniform, acting as a security guard in a city 200 miles away from his jurisdiction. His Police officers write thousands of traffic tickets every year in a place that is 2 miles square. Sure sounds fishy to me. Jimb.

 

[Alizerine]

Maybe they think she was already dead by some other means when the bullets were fired.

 

[Murrmurr]

Police corruption is alive and well in Coffee City Texas. A village with a population of 250 people has a fifty person Police department. Read this link. The Small Texas Town With 50 Cops and Only 250 Residents The Chief of the Coffee City Texas Police department has been seen in uniform, acting as a security guard in a city 200 miles away from his jurisdiction. His Police officers write thousands of traffic tickets every year in a place that is 2 miles square. Sure sounds fishy to me. Jimb.

A city with a pop of 250 people is not typical, of course. And the smaller the city, the more likely some shenanigans are afoot.

Also, just for added info, Coffe City isn't very near the Gulf coast or the Mexican border. In cities and towns that are nearer to either one, the Sheriff's Dept has some jurisdiction over illegal immigrants, so they're much busier than Coffee City's department....much too busy for shenanigans.

 

[Murrmurr]

Maybe they think she was already dead by some other means when the bullets were fired.

That occurred to me, too. So let's say Buford shot her, then what?...he planned that ambush and got himself shot in the neck to make it convincing?

Not likely, right?

 

[oldaunt]

Police corruption is alive and well in Coffee City Texas. A village with a population of 250 people has a fifty person Police department. Read this link. The Small Texas Town With 50 Cops and Only 250 Residents The Chief of the Coffee City Texas Police department has been seen in uniform, acting as a security guard in a city 200 miles away from his jurisdiction. His Police officers write thousands of traffic tickets every year in a place that is 2 miles square. Sure sounds fishy to me. Jimb.

You seem to spend a great deal of time looking for things to bash the US with. This one's old OLD news.

 

[Lilac]

Police corruption is alive and well in Coffee City Texas. A village with a population of 250 people has a fifty person Police department. Read this link. The Small Texas Town With 50 Cops and Only 250 Residents The Chief of the Coffee City Texas Police department has been seen in uniform, acting as a security guard in a city 200 miles away from his jurisdiction. His Police officers write thousands of traffic tickets every year in a place that is 2 miles square. Sure sounds fishy to me. Jimb.

It's not alive & well anymore since the Coffee City Counsel fired the chief & deactivated the entire department on 9/11/23. LE coverage is being provided by the Henderson County Sheriff's Office for the city.

 

[rgp]

The Wife of the former Sheriff of McNairy County Tennessee, who was shot and killed on August the 12th of 1967, was recently exhumed by agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. The TIB had received a tip that the original investigation into her death in 1967 did not include an autopsy. On that day in 1967, Sheriff Pusser and his Wife Pauline were both riding in his car as they drove towards a call about a disturbance. The car was travelling south on US highway 45, close to the Tennessee Mississippi State line. Somebody fired 14 shots at their car, hitting it 11 times. 14 30 caliber rounds from a military rifle were recovered from the roadside ditch. Sheriff Pusser was wounded in the neck, but he survived. His Wife was shot in the head and died in the car.

Sheriff Pusser later died in a car wreck. He was driving his personal car, a Chevrolet Corvette, at a high rate of speed, estimated to have been in excess of 100 mph, when the car swerved and rolled over several times. The Tennessee State Police accident unit measured the skid marks as being more than 600 feet long.

For those that do not live in the USA, you need to understand that a County Sheriff is an elected position, and many Sheriffs have little or no formal law enforcement training. County Sheriffs are as much a political position as they are a law enforcement job.

Two motion pictures have been made about Buford Pusser. One starred Joe Don Baker, and it was called " Walk Tall " a more recent2004 film starring "the Rock " Dwayne Johnson did not mention Buford Pusser by name, and it was set in Washington State, not Tennessee.

Here is a link .

MSN JIMB>

600 feet long ?? If the car would have skidded 600 feet, it surely would have stopped, [and likely not flipped/rolled several times] moving inertia only lasts so long. And the farther it slides , the more it slows , meaning less inertia.

Typo ? .......60 feet maybe ?

 

[jimintoronto]

600 feet long ?? If the car would have skidded 600 feet, it surely would have stopped, [and likely not flipped/rolled several times] moving inertia only lasts so long. And the farther it slides , the more it slows , meaning less inertia.

Typo ? .......60 feet maybe ?

READ THIS LINK> Buford Pusser - Wikipedia

He was driving at a high rate of speed, not wearing a seat belt, and he was ejected from his "specially modified Corvette ". Jimb.