Minot policeman killed by whiskey runner 100 years ago remembered

MINOT, N.D. – The car was creeping slowly through a Minot alley at 4:15 in the morning when it was stopped by night policeman Lee S. Fahler. A few moments later the sound of two gunshots pierced the night air. Both shots struck officer Fahler, knocking him to the ground.

Unable to get up, Fahler managed to turn on his side and, resting his elbow on the ground, returned fire three times. One of his shots struck his assailant who managed to flee the scene on foot and take refuge in the basement of a nearby house. Fahler died from his wounds the following morning.

The above described incident happened on Thursday, Jan. 21, 1921, just over 100 years ago. Fahler is the last officer of the Minot Police Department to be killed in the line of duty. A planned memorial service by the Minot PD on the anniversary of the unfortunate event was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

“Even though it happened 100 years ago, Lee is still our brother,” said Aaron Moss, Minot PD crime prevention. “He was an officer following up instincts and no different today.”

Fahler worked the city streets in the era of prohibition, a nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages that went into effect Jan. 17, 1920. With the knowledge that illegal whiskey runners sometimes passed through Minot, or made deliveries in the city, Fahler’s instincts told him that a slowly moving vehicle in an alley during the early morning hours was cause for concern.

In an alley adjacent to the Ellison apartments, the same building located west of the Ward County Courthouse that burned last February, Fahler stopped the vehicle. According to the Ward County Independent, when the driver got out of the car Fahler pointed his .45 caliber revolver and called “stick ’em up!”

The driver, Avery Erickson of Chisholm, Minnesota, complied. However, when Fahler stepped on the running board of Erickson’s vehicle to see what was inside, Erickson opened fire with a previously concealed .38, striking Fahler.

Erickson was later found sitting in a basement corner of a “double house” by a man tending to the fire in a furnace at 5 a.m. At gunpoint Erickson requested a doctor and warned against contacting the police, but he was apprehended and taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was operated on immediately. Fahler, clinging to life, was already there.

Despite his fearful wounds, Fahler remained conscious and able to tell his story. At one point he asked Police Chief McDonald, “Did I do my duty?” The fallen policeman was in such a dire condition that it was determined he would not survive the shock of surgery. Fahler died at 11:30 a.m. the following day, leaving behind a wife and an 8-year-old son.

Initially, Erickson was expected to recover from his gunshot wound. He was reported to be doing well until his weakened condition resulted in an onset of pneumonia. He died one week after the shooting. Erickson was survived by his wife, whom he had married just three weeks earlier. His profession, when not running whiskey, was as time-keeper for the city of Chisholm.

The vehicle Erickson was driving, a Studebaker 6, was discovered to be loaded with whiskey being transported from Regina, Saskatchewan to Minnesota. Additionally, the vehicle was stolen from a liquor dealer in that Canadian city.

Erickson was said to have been talking freely while in the hospital, admitting to the automobile theft and running of whiskey. And, despite an attempt to bribe Fahler, said he thought the policeman was a “high jacker” trying to steal his car and load.

“Fahler was enforcing a rather unpopular law, prohibition,” said Moss. “We’re still here to do our duty and the time honored tradition of enforcing the law and protecting the community we serve.”

Fahler was not wearing a policeman’s uniform when he stopped Erickson’s vehicle, something not entirely unusual for city police in 1921. His body was transported by the Great Northern Railway for burial in Eldora, Iowa.

Fahler’s widow and family brought a $30,000 lawsuit against the city which, apparently, had failed to make a timely payment for compensation insurance for city employees. The city balked at the suit. The lawsuit eventually found its way to the North Dakota Supreme Court which ruled in favor of the compensation.

Minot policeman killed by whiskey runner 100 years ago remembered

Follow us on Google News

Follow us on Flipboard

Trending Slider

Sen. Hoeven meets with President Trump to discuss key North Dakota priorities, including “support for our farmers and the One Big Beautiful Bill”

Driver with five prior DUI arrests accused of striking North Dakota Highway Patrol squad vehicle, trooper narrowly avoids injury

Bismarck city government honors Olympic gold medalist and former MLB executive with special recognition events

Bismarck city government announces 24th Street closure between Main Avenue and Broadway for road and railroad work

Gov. Armstrong welcomes “a true North Dakota hero,” says long-awaited recovery brings closure to decades-long question for service member killed in WWII

North Dakota driver clocked at 125 mph, NDHP says “see how fast this thing goes with the kids in the back” isn’t on the recommended itinerary after $295 citation and 15 points issued

Follow us on News Break

Categories

Minot policeman killed by whiskey runner 100 years ago remembered

Related posts

Minot Police Department seeing high number of calls for stolen vehicles

Antwan Baker Sr., Minot, acquitted of raping young girl

Suspect charged in death of missing Minot woman held on $2 million bond

Suspect arrested following investigation into explosives in Minot

Missing woman found dead, murder suspect arrested in Minot, ND

Fargo police investigate drink drugging cases

Follow us on Google News

Follow us on Flipboard

Sen. Hoeven meets with President Trump to discuss key North Dakota priorities, including “support for our farmers and the One Big Beautiful Bill”

Driver with five prior DUI arrests accused of striking North Dakota Highway Patrol squad vehicle, trooper narrowly avoids injury

Bismarck city government honors Olympic gold medalist and former MLB executive with special recognition events

Bismarck city government announces 24th Street closure between Main Avenue and Broadway for road and railroad work

Gov. Armstrong welcomes “a true North Dakota hero,” says long-awaited recovery brings closure to decades-long question for service member killed in WWII

North Dakota driver clocked at 125 mph, NDHP says “see how fast this thing goes with the kids in the back” isn’t on the recommended itinerary after $295 citation and 15 points issued