LOUIS COLLINS

 In the old ballad Louis Collins, legendary bluesman Mississippi John Hurt bemoans the shooting of of a young man and the grief it caused his family and friends. And what a waste it all was. He could've been singing about our Louis Collins, a young NPD officer who came to a tragic end years before his time.
Lou was home grown and tried several jobs Cracker's do before finding police work. He found he loved it and was good at it. He had almost a year on the job before he went to the police academy. That's where the terrible accident happened on December 3rd, 1971. 
The students were just returning to class and taking their seats. Although firearms were strictly forbidden in the academy classroom, the recruit sitting in front of Lou had sneaked one in. He had it in the back pocket of his bib overalls. When he started to sit down, the pistol--an ancient S&W top-break .38--fell from his pocket. Being an old gun, it had no hammer block, or device preventing the gun from firing if it was dropped and hit on the hammer.
The gun went off. Lou grabbed his chest and said, "My God, you've killed me," and fell to the floor, instantly gone.

His name appears on the End Of Watch Memorial at the NPD.
We still miss you, Brother.


Thanks Chester and Joe for the help