Gaffney officers establish memorial to comrade slain in 1937 shooting

Gaffney Police Chief John O’Donald (second from right) and Gaffney Police Department officers Patrick Phillips, Kevin Lancaster and Capt. Brooks Allison presented a memorial to Bill Wright, the son of slain police officer Frank Wright, and Bill’s wife, Jean, on Thursday, which marked the 67th anniversary of the officer’s death.

Ledger Staff Writer

The only Gaffney police officer ever killed in the line of duty was memorialized Thursday.

Officer Frank Wright was killed Dec. 9, 1937, while attempting to arrest business owner Grady Coyle.

City police officers Patrick Phillip, Kevin Lancaster and Lts. David Clary and Mike Whitaker along with the help of 9-1-1 dispatcher Jack Vess have been working for months to create the memorial.

The memorial Thursday was described as a heartfelt honor by Gaffney Police Chief John O’Donald.

The officers presented a shadow box to Wright’s son Bill and his wife, Jean. A second shadow box will be on display in the lobby of the Gaffney Law Enforcement Center.

Included in the shadow boxes is an exact replica of the badge that Wright was wearing when he was shot to death outside Coyle’s restaurant on Mills Street in 1937. The boxes also include a picture of the slain officer.

Phillips ordered the replica of the badge, including Wright’s badge number from the Smith and Warren Co., a business specializing in badges. The badge is a duplicate, minus the fatal bullet hole that pierced the original Wright was wearing when he was shot.

The 30-year-old officer was killed after responding to a fight between two men who were arguing over a dog outside the Mills Street cafe. Police were attempting to arrest Coyle because he refused to let anyone break up the fight. Coyle also was killed in the shootout.

When Coyle refused to be arrested or pay the $26.50 bond, Wright and police officer John F. Gentry entered the business to apprehend him. Gunfire broke out between Gentry and Coyle. Police said following the shootout that Gentry shot Coyle three times, killing him. Wright, who was shot once by Coyle, never fired his weapon.

Wright is buried in Oakland Cemetery at the corner of 4th Street and 4th Avenue. He was survived by his wife Aurelia Kirby Wright and his only son.

Bill Wright, who was two years old at the time of his father’s death and 69 years old now, is a retired maintenance mechanic who worked at Hoechst Celenese. He and his wife, Jean, have two sons and live on Sherwood Drive in Gaffney.

Frank Wright was the son of the late Sheriff Jesse G. Wright and Ida Wright. Mrs. Sherwood Abernathy is his only remaining sibling from a family of nine brothers and sisters. She lives on Union Street in Gaffney.

Bill Wright received his father’s police badge from Julian Wright just before his uncle’s death. His grandmother also helped him preserve his father’s memory through newspaper clippings and other mementos.

Bill Wright has the original newspaper article from The Gaffney Ledger about the shooting. He also has his father’s old uniform in a cedar chest that he hasn’t opened in about 40 years.

Wright’s name will hopefully be included in the 2005 National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund’s memorial ceremony in Washington, D.C. (www.nleomf.com). His name has been added to the Officer Down Memorial Page at www.odmp.org.

Wright is included in a memorial in Columbia at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy Hall of Fame, which lists officers killed in the line of duty.