Dow Braziel
Dow Braziel served as a U.S. Deputy Marshal and an IRS Officer before he was killed in Ardmore, Oklahoma, in 1919.
Braziel was born in an unknown location to Robert Haden and Nancy Jane Braziel on October 8, 1881. He grew up to serve as an IRS Officer, U.S. Deputy Marshal, and Chief of Police in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
There, he had a long-standing feud with Deputy Sheriff Bud Ballew and his boss, Sheriff Buck Garrett, because they had not enforced the Prohibition laws as aggressively as Braziel.
Very early on the morning of January 31, 1919, the current Ardmore Chief of Police, Les Segler, met up with Bud Ballew in the east part of the city, where gunshots had been heard. After talking for a while, the two headed to the California Cafe at the corner of Main and Mill Street for breakfast.
By this time, Dow was no longer serving in a lawman capacity; but still harbored a grudge against Bud Ballew.
As Ballew and Segler entered the cafe, they noticed Dow Braziel standing on the east side of the room. Before they knew it, Dow fired two shots at Bud Ballew but missed. The deputy immediately returned fire, emptying his pistol and hitting Braziel, who fell dead on the floor. Bud was arrested by the Police Chief, taken to the police station, and later transferred to the county jail. However, Chief Segler made a formal statement about the facts, and Bud was soon released on the grounds of self-defense.
In the meantime, Braziel was buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022.
Also See:
Bud Ballew – Gunfighter & Lawman