This week in Shelley history: Lafayette “Lafe” Hampton

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following information comes from Officer Down Memorial Page, a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring America’s fallen law enforcement officers.

SHELLEY — On a mid-November day in 1914, village marshal Lafayette “Lafe” Hampton didn’t come home.

In the fall of 1914, Lafe was serving as a village marshal for the young city of Shelley. Lafe, a strapping 28-year-old, had a wife and two children. His wife was soon to become a widow. His children, fatherless.

Tuesday, November 17, a man suspected of robbing a local store was fleeing arrest. Lafe, doing his duty as a marshal, was giving chase.

As they neared the outskirts of town, the suspected robber turned and fired his gun, striking his pursuer. The young lawman went down and the suspect made his escape, with two of his cohorts in tow.

As the hours drew on, without any sign of Lafe, the town formed a posse. When Lafe still didn’t return the posse went out looking for him and the suspected criminals. They only found Lafe’s body.

Three weeks later, law enforcement arrested one of the suspects in Nampa, Idaho. The other two were never found.

Lafe had only been a village marshal for 17 days.