Deputy Gus H Jorgenson

End of Watch : September 8, 1931

SHERIFF GUSS H. JORGENSON
Martin County Sheriff's Office
Died September 8, 1931

On Tuesday, September 8th, at 7:30 a.m., Sheriff Guss H. Jorgenson responded to a call to the Roy Pygman farm in Nashville Township where one of Mr. Pygman's employees had threatened to kill Pygman and his family. This was not the first time such a threat had been made. On July 23rd, the suspect had also threatened Mr. Pygman by pointing a gun at him and saying he would shoot him. The suspect had been jailed for weapons possession and was told to leave the area, but he had returned to the Pygman farm.

According to Mr. Pygman, Sheriff Jorgenson arrived and approached the shack where the suspect was. The suspect, Nicholas Rodriguez, a Mexican beet worker, opened the door and as Jorgenson stepped into the doorway, a shot was heard. Jorgenson staggered forty feet back to the house, fatally wounded and collapsed at Mr. Pygman kitchen door. Mr. Pygman then called Dr. Vaughn and Marshal Tucholl from Truman and took up a post at his kitchen window with a shotgun. After Dr. Vaughn and Marshal Tucholl arrived, they also went into the kitchen. A shot fired from the shack went through the kitchen window, the stove and the dining room wall, passing between Vaughn and Pygman. Pygman was hit with a splinter from the stove and some plaster hit his child. Sheriff Jorgenson's gun was later found in his car. He had approached the suspect unarmed.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez barricaded himself in the shack. Police opened fire, but Rodriguez would not come out, so Chief Johnson of St. James shot tear gas into the shack. Blinded by tear gas, Rodriguez came out of the shack with a Springfield .30 06 in his right hand and a .38 revolver in his left hand, firing randomly with the rifle. Police National Guardsman and volunteer vigilantes opened fire on him, shooting him 15 times and killing him.

Sheriff Jorgenson was 62 years old. He had been elected sheriff in 1926 and re-elected for another four years in 1930. He was survived by his wife, Mayme, and four children, Chilton, Gail, Virginia and Agatha. His funeral was held on Saturday, September 12th, at the Methodist Church. He was buried at Lakeside Cemetery.

Sourced from: The book "We Will Remember"
With permission from Lisa Lovering, Author and Board of Director
MN Law Enforcement Memorial Association
L.E.M.A. 2009

Clayton Olson

Frank E McGregor