Officer killed in line of duty remembered on anniversary of death

James Alan Arterbury

Deputy was responding to disturbance when attacked

Entering the police force carries the kind of risk that few are willing to take on, yet those who wear the badge do just that in the name of service.

That’s why those in the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office won’t allow the name of Deputy James Alan Arterbury to be forgotten.

July marks the anniversary of Arterbury’s death 46 years ago, when he lost his life at the age of 24 while responding to a disturbance at a Killona bar, the Nite Cap Lounge. He was the second St. Charles Parish officer to be killed in the line of duty.

When Arterbury entered the bar room on Independence Day of 1973, several people attacked him. According to court records, he arrived at approximately 8:30 p.m. that night and found an unruly crowd waiting. Arterbury returned to his truck, called for assistance, and retrieved his shotgun from the trunk.

When he walked toward the crowd, keeping the muzzle of the gun pointed skyward, the crowd became belligerent and surrounded Arterbury. Someone in the crowd grabbed the shotgun and shot it into the air. In the commotion, another man grabbed the deputy’s revolver from his holster.

Arterbury was shot in the back with his own gun, leaving the crowd to scatter. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died several hours later, never to return home following his shift.

It happened just three years into his law enforcement career.

The shooter identified in the document, Johnson Washington Jr., was convicted of first-degree murder.

Arterbury’s memory is honored with a display at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. He received a Purple Heart posthumously from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Sheriff’s Office named the headquarters of its community services division after the fallen officer, christening it the Alan  Arterbury Memorial Building in his memory.

He is also honored at the Sheriff’s Office’s Fallen Heroes Memorial, along with Sheriff Lewis Ory, Deputy Nelson Coleman and Deputy Jeff G. Watson, fellow officers who fell in the line of duty. Each year, the Sheriff’s Office holds an annual memorial service to honor those men, and also all Louisiana officers killed in the line of duty in that year.

“These people showed up to work every day to serve and protect their community, and one day they never came home,” Capt. Pat Yoes said. “They and their families paid the price. It’s our obligation to never forget the sacrifice they’ve made.”

James Alan Arterbury

  • The second St. Charles Parish officer killed in the line of duty, he lost his life in July of 1973 responding to a disturbance call.
  • Arterbury was surrounded and attacked when arriving, and in the fray his gun was taken and used to shoot him fatally in the back.
  • Arterbury has been honored with a Purple Heart posthumously by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, which also named its community services division headquarters in his honor.

 

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2 Comments

  1. This my people wrong place at the wrong time back in the day wrong story an ambulance hit the cop and he died they said he got shot and he didn’t free pop doing life 47 years Strong

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