Officer Roy Thornton was shot and killed while arresting a man for a misdemeanor. Another officer arrived and asked if he needed help. At the same moment a friend of the arrestee arrived and opened fire with a 10 gauge shotgun, striking both officers. Officer Thornton was killed and the other officer was wounded. The man escaped and was never captured.
Officer Thornton had been with the agency for two years and was survived by his wife. He is buried in Provence Cemetery east of Ardmore, Oklaho
