CURTIS D. SOWERS
1895-1929
Curtis D. Sowers was born July 18, 1895.
Sowers was a World War I veteran, serving with the artillery of the Sixth Division of the U.S. Army. He was married, had no children, and lived on Dewey Avenue in North York.
Sowers was a motorcycle officer in North York Borough, appointed on June 24, 1927. Sowers moonlighted as a sheriff’s deputy, assisting constables in the performance of their duties.
Police tried to arrest Jacob Troup in February for cattle rustling. Constable Caleb Altland and Sowers went to arrest Troup at the home of a neighbor. Troup saw the officers coming and fled out the back door, disappearing into the hills.
On Tuesday, May 21, 1929, the cops came looking for him again. While the Officers were surrounding the home Jacob Troup shot Sowers with a shotgun blast.
Jacob Troup remained on the lam for five days, hiding out in the hills of northern York County. He was arrested May 26 when he returned to his father’s house. Following a three-day trial, Troup was convicted of first-degree murder on Aug. 28, 1929.
Sowers was buried May 25, 1929.
North York Borough disbanded its police department and became a member of the Northern York County Regional Police Department in 1973.
For more information on the death of Officer Curtis Sowers, please visit the Police Heritage Museum Website
http://www.policeheritagemuseum.com/sowers.htm
