Madison’s only police officer killed in the line of duty to be honored at National Memorial tonight

Madison Police Chief David Jernigan with Madison Constable William Russell Jr.’s great-great granddaughters, Jenie Haley and Minette Strader.

MADISON – Tonight a fallen Madison police officer will be remembered after his name was added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, DC. It’s a moment that will be very dear to Madison Chief of Police David Jernigan, a moment he says almost didn’t happen.

In 1903, Madison City Constable William A. Russell, Jr. was killed while performing his law enforcement duties. He died from injuries sustained when he was struck on the head by a woman, wielding a heavy stick, whom he was attempting to serve court papers.

The court papers were the result of the woman failing to pay for furniture. The 33-year-old woman was charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.

“Getting his name on the National Memorial is something I have wanted to push,” Chief Jernigan told city council members Monday evening. “Constable Russell’s name is on the local Madison County Law Enforcement Officer Memorial and the state memorial located in Anniston. He is, however, not on the National Memorial. One of the holdups is that we did not have relatives that could verify that he did indeed live here in Madison and was killed.”

That changed last year when by chance two of Constable Russell’s great-great granddaughters responded to a Facebook post seeking information about his descendants. It came weeks after the Huntsville-Madison County Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) sought help from the public to assist them uncover information about Russell.

Attending the Madison County memorial ceremony last year were the two descendants, Jenie Haley and Minette Strader. They made the trip from their home in North Carolina to honor their relative.

“We were lacking some ancestry information to make our case for inclusion on the wall possible. With the discovery of Russell’s granddaughters we had the required information to submit for the review committee to consider our case,” Jernigan said. “This means a lot to us. He is our only Madison officer killed in the line of duty,”

Constable Russell will be one of 307 names being added to the National Memorial this year. “There are over 22,000 names on the memorial, which has been established since around 1984,” Jernigan said. “We are excited it is getting done. It is an opportunity for us to memorialize, to reflect and pay honor and respect to those who have gone before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Constable Russell was a veteran of the Army Confederate States of America and served in the Civil war. He had previously served as a Deputy for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. He was survived by his wife and six children. He was 65 years old and died on Sunday, November 22, 1903.

The names of the fallen officers who have been added in 2020 to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Memorial will be read on Wednesday, May 13, at 7 p.m. during a Virtual Annual Candlelight Vigil. Because public events have been suspended as a result of COVID-19, the vigil will be livestreamed to the public.

You can learn more about National Police Week, here: www.policeweek.org.

To register for the virtual candlelight vigil, please visit: www.nleomf.org.

Below is a column written by Madison Police Communications Officer Teresa Taylor-Duncan about Constable Russell murder and its aftermath.

Lessons We Can Learn from the Death of Constable William A. Russell, Jr.

Just as President John F. Kennedy desired to honor those who serve and those who have fallen in 1961 with a week of remembrance, Madison Police Department invites you to join us as we commemorate National Police Week 2020.

In these uncertain times, it is often difficult to determine fact from fiction, truth from fable, and knowledge from hearsay. When we look to history to provide us with guidance, we may find more questions than answers but looking back will always give us perspective.

In late 1903, while acting in the capacity of Constable, William A. Russell, Jr., husband, father of six, and civil war veteran, was bludgeoned to death in a home in Madison. Minerva Walker, a mother of two, was arrested and charged with his murder. These are the facts that we know, written in the legalese language of the early twentieth century, and taken directly from historical documents.

The volume of what we don’t know is so much more. What happened to Constable Russell’s family? Some of his children were grown at the time and some, who were still quite young, were left to grow up without a father. During that post-civil war time, there were no programs to help children of fallen officers with their education nor were there go fund me accounts to help widows provide them with the basic necessities of life. The struggles faced by his widow and children must have been tremendous in the changing times of the Progressive Era in Alabama.

What became of Minerva Walker and her children? She was tried, convicted of murder in a Madison County Circuit Court by an all-white jury on March 5, 1904, and sentenced to life in prison. Court records indicate she was to be placed in State Penitentiary but Walker, represented by her attorney, requested, and was granted 60 days to file an appeal with the Alabama Supreme Court.

The appeal, based on a more than 100 page brief, was considered and the Court voided the conviction during the November 1903-1904 term. Her verifiable history ends with entry into the Alabama Convict Records which documents convictions and sentences. There is no mention of the voided conviction, only her death in 1905 from tuberculosis.

Little is known about events that transpired after the death of Constable Russell and trial of Minerva Walker. History tells us that each of their children grew up without one of their parents. An event occurred which forever changed the course of history and the lives of those who were not even involved in what happened in that small, sparse house just outside the City of Madison.

As law enforcement officers, what can we learn from this tragic event? We take away the reminder that we are all but a heartbeat away from changing lives; the lives of those we serve, those we love, and those we are yet to meet. We learn that there are three sides to every event; ours, theirs, and the truth that lies somewhere between the three. We know that today video may be able to document actions, facts, and events, but does little to record the emotions, fears, and uncertainties faced by law enforcement officers on a daily basis.

As we strive to educate today’s officers using the latest technology, law enforcement will be wise to remember to reiterate the importance of compassion, respecting those who are different, honoring culture and pride in heritage, and above all learning from our past.

Today we honor the officers who, each day, bid their families goodbye with the knowledge that it may be their last. We honor the families who watch as their officers’ walk into the unexpected and the unknown. We honor the citizens who support us as we strive to protect and serve. And finally, we honor Constable William A. Russell, Jr. end of watch 11/22/1903.

The Madison Police Department asks that residents and businesses alike “Turn Madison Blue” in memory of fallen officers across the country and honor those officers who work every shift protecting the lives and liberties of our citizens. Place a blue light in the window of your home or business or on your front porch during the week of May 10-16.