Each Sept. 25, Beaumont Police Department (BPD) officers remembered Deputy City Marshall William Patterson, who was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 25, 1881.
According to BPD, Deputy Patterson responded to a disturbance at a church where three suspects had broken several windows. As he attempted to take the suspects into custody, one of the suspects drew a firearm and shot Patterson, who died the next day. Deputy Patterson was 33 years old and served the city of Beaumont for eight years.