Arizona Lawman Harry Wheeler
Harry C. Wheeler, when serving as Sheriff of Cochise County, 1916.
by Steven “Pacheco” McCann
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has not seen or at least heard of the classic movie character Inspector Harry Callahan, better known as “Dirty Harry”. Portrayed by the handsome and renowned actor Clint Eastwood, he lit up the big screen with his many bold, action-packed shootouts, most performed with his now famous Smith & Wesson Model 29 SA/DA revolver chambered in the hefty .44 Magnum caliber. It was considered at the time to be “the most powerful handgun in the world!”
Actor Clint Eastwood played Officer Harry Callahan, “Dirty Harry”.
The famous character provided numerous highlighted one-liners that we have all heard that are hard to surpass in this series of four intriguing movies. Critics and fans alike found his portrayal of a ruthless San Francisco lawman to be both invigorating and yet troubling at the same time.
I propose for your consideration that the Eastwood character was not the original “Dirty Harry”, at least not in real life. There is one specific historical figure that should be considered for this “honorary” title, with that being Arizona Lawman Harry Wheeler. However, there was nothing “dirty” about how this officer performed his duties, but his similar results were no less deadly than those of Inspector Callahan’s. One of Wheeler’s most famous quotes is that “I will never be the first to fire”, which undoubtedly put his life in extreme danger in each of his several lethal-ending confrontations.
Harry Wheeler started his Arizona Law Enforcement career in July 1903 when he joined the Arizona Rangers with a force consisting of only 26 men. This bold and daring group of officers was formed in 1901 to help quell the out-of-control crime that was engulfing the state at that time. Harry was a very proper, handsome former military man who performed his duties with integrity and by the book, only exerting lethal force when absolutely necessary.
The first time he had to draw his weapon in self-defense while protecting the innocent happened in Tucson, Arizona, on October 23, 1904. Wheeler, who had risen through the ranks to the position of Sergeant, was dining at Wanda’s Restaurant when two men approached the nearby Palace Saloon intent on holding up the place as well as its customers. One of the would-be victims, M.D. Beebe escaped out the front door and came across the young lawman as he left the diner on Congress Street just before the clock struck midnight. Beebe informed the Ranger that a robbery was taking place inside the saloon owned by future Deputy U.S. Marshal Marcus Navares and advised the officer, “Don’t go in there”. Wheeler promptly blurted out his own famous line, “It’s all right, that is what I am here for!”
Tucson, Arizona, Meyer Street, c1908
The fearless Arizona Ranger swiftly entered the saloon, drawing his Colt Single Action 45 Colt revolver, which at the time was one of the most powerful handguns in the world. With one highwayman outlook stationed outside, the insider robber Joe Boswick attempted to shoot the entering Wheeler before the officer was able to fire his gun, as they both proceeded to trade multiple rounds with each other. However, the ill-fated outlaw wound up getting the worst of their fiery exchange. A first glancing shot struck him on the forehead, and then the gunfight finished with the eventual fatal Ranger bullet to his chest. I guess this dead robber wasn’t a “lucky punk” in this case after all. The other robber lookout escaped and was never captured. When questioned after the incident, Wheeler expressed sincere regret about the occurrence and told a local newspaper reporter that “it was either his life or mine!” Unfortunately, this would not be the last time this real life “Dirty Harry” would have to discharge his weapon that would end the life of a wanted criminal.
A second deadly incident would befall our “Dirty Harry” hero in Benson, Arizona, on Thursday, February 28, 1907, with the aggressor meeting his eventual demise. Arizona Ranger Lieutenant Harry Wheeler was in Benson in assistance to his Captain when he was approached about a personal matter. D.W. Silverton and his wife were being stalked by his wife’s disgruntled ex-lover, J.A. Tracy. Wheeler was shown a photograph of Tracy and began his search for the man immediately, and saw the man sitting on the steps of a dining car at the train station. As Wheeler walked toward him, Tracy saw Silverton and Wife come out of the hotel and began threatening them and pulled out a wicked looking revolver. Wheeler yelled, “Lieutenant Wheeler arrests you. Give me that gun!” Tracy began shooting at the lawman, with the Ranger returning fire and telling the crazed man to surrender. Wheeler’s aim was direct and harsh, hitting the assailant four times with one under the heart, one in the neck, one in the arm, and the last one in the thigh. Unfortunately, Harry did not escape unscathed, being hit in the upper left thigh near the groin. Back then, Colt 45 revolvers were only carried with five rounds, with an open round over the cylinder for safety reasons. As Wheeler approached to make his arrest, Tracy fired off two more rounds, hitting Harry in the left heel. Out of bullets in his gun, Wheeler hurled a couple of nearby rocks at his assailant until his gun was also empty. The limping, severely wounded officer was able to subdue the would-be assassin and place him under arrest. J.A. Tracy would not survive his wounds, but said that “he held no ill will toward the determined Ranger.”
Tucson Lawman and Pima County Sheriff Nabor Pacheco.
While recovering from his wounds, Wheeler expressed his thoughts on the Benson gunfight in a letter to his good friend and fellow officer, Pima County Sheriff Nabor Pacheco. “It comes back plainly to me, more plainly now, but though I was right and could not have done otherwise, still there is sorrow in my heart at the thought of Tracy that will not soon wear away.”
Captain Harry Wheeler was later said to have taken another life when he and a fellow sheriff were ambushed at night by illegal liquor bootleggers. He used his Winchester lever-action 30-40 Krag rifle to return fire at the flashes from the rifles of the outlaws, whose bullet-filled bodies were discovered the next day.
Lawman Harry Wheeler would own and use a precursor to Inspector Callahan’s iconic Smith and Wesson model 29 44 magnum revolver when he joined the World War I fight as a Captain in the United States Army in March 1918. He carried a blued 6 1/2″ Smith & Wesson SA/DA action revolver in the British caliber of 455 Eley, also known as 455 Colt, which his heirs still have today.
So there you have it. Was there a real-life “Dirty Harry” in Arizona history? I believe so, and his name was Harry C. Wheeler, one of the most revered and respected lawmen in the state’s history and undoubtedly able numerous times to “make his day!”
©Steven “Pacheco” McCann, for Legends of America. October 2025.
Captain Harry Wheeler’s Grave is in the Evergreen Cemetery in Bisbee, Arizona.
Also See:
Nabor Pacheco – Pima County Lawman
Bound by Duty – United in Friendship (the Nabor Pacheco/Harry Wheeler Story)
Marshal Virgil Earp’s “What If” Could Have Changed History Forever
Author Steven McCann
About the Author: Steven “Pacheco” McCann is an Arizona native with a family history on his mother’s side dating back to the 1700s when the family patriarchs were ranching and farming on lands in southern Arizona. They used the state’s oldest recorded cattle brand, the Diamond Bell, granted to them by the King of Spain in 1888.
Steve grew up spending quality cowboy time with his grandfather on Ricardo’s ranches located around Tucson where his love of western life and its historical significance was born. During his youth he branded numerous cattle with his grandfather’s A Triangle Bar and Box 3 branding irons and learned to ride and rope right beside this giant of a man that he idolized.
With some knowledge of his great-grandfather Nabor Pacheco’s decade-plus time as an Arizona law enforcement officer, Steve’s interest in the history of early Arizona law enforcement has grown into a deep, sincere passion. Reading several books on the Arizona Rangers by renowned author Bill O’Neal lit a fire in Steve from Bill’s detailed accounts of several of Sheriff Nabor Pacheco’s co-captained posses with the Arizona Rangers. Captain Harry Wheeler, Captain Thomas Rynning, Sargent Jeff Kidder, Billy Old, and many more of the Rangers’ best, to mention a few. Steve has enjoyed the pleasure of talking and becoming friends with Bill O’Neal and has grown to share Bill’s fervor for these never-to-be-forgotten heroes, but especially the mutual love of Captain Harry Wheeler.
Photos of the family’s 1907 Colt Bisley, fully engraved & nickel plated 45 caliber revolver, a favorite gun of Lawman Nabor Pacheco.
The multiple assignments Pacheco and Wheeler performed together and their deep friendship has become one of Steve’s focused areas of interest. They shared so much in common, as both men were shot and wounded during in the line of duty gunfights, both men served as Arizona Sheriffs (Pima and Cochise Countys respectively), and both men wore the badge of Deputy U.S. Marshal. They both possessed strong convictions of righting the many wrongs they encountered during their time of service, both men were highly proficient in handling their high caliber Colt 45 revolvers and lever action rifles and unfortuately, both men died of natural causes much too early. Steve enjoys participating in local Cowboy Fast Draw competitions with his own Colt Bisley 45 Caliber revolvers when not researching and writing about Arizona’s Old West History in hopes his two sons will develop the “interest” as well.