Sheriff Joseph Rogers was shot and killed as he and a deputy attempted to arrest two men they encountered on a road near Glencoe Township. When Sheriff Rogers told the men he was going to arrest them one of them fired at the Sheriff. After Sheriff Rogers returned fire the men again fired, striking Sheriff Rogers in the chest. The deputy went to get help and Sheriff Rogers was shot several more times.

The suspects were apprehended by a posse in a swamp the next day and were lynched.

Sheriff Rogers had been marshal of Glencoe for 7 years before being elected Sheriff in 1894. He was survived by his mother, father, and sister; he is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Glencoe, Mcleod County, Minnesota.