Ed Cantrell
Encyclopedia
Ed Cantrell was the public safety director of Rock Springs, Wyoming
who was acquitted of killing one of his officers in 1978.
The son of Samuel Glenn, a Nazarene
minister and Vesta Marie Robinson Cantrell, Cantrell was born in Bloomington, Indiana
. Cantrell excelled in sports and graduated from Plainfield High School
in 1945 with a football
and basketball
scholarship. Aspiring to be a coach, he had almost completed three years at Indiana State College when President Truman
ordered the Berlin airlift in 1948. Cantrell immediately enlisted in the Army
and spent three years as a military police
man in the "bombed-out ruin" south of Frankfurt
, Germany
. His tour of duty was then extended due to the Korean War
. Upon discharge, he graduated with honors from the Indiana
State Police Academy.
An avid hunter, fisherman and marksman, he later visited Wyoming and decided to relocate there. Accepted into the Wyoming Highway Patrol
, he was assigned to the Rock Springs area in 1960. Although he liked his job, he later resigned from the highway patrol to lobby for a state police bill. "A little skeleton crew of highway patrolmen and a sheriff's department were understaffed," he said, explaining that he and his fellow officers were trying to create a more effective state police force.
The following January he was hired as a range detective in Lusk
. His job took him all over Wyoming as well as neighboring states in pursuit of lawbreakers. Then, in 1976, following the death of his oldest son in a car accident, Cantrell and his wife decided to return to Rock Springs, where he worked for undersheriff
Jim Stark. The following year Cantrell assumed the post of safety director of a badly demoralized Rock Springs police force. He then formed a detective division from existing officers and hired Michael Rosa as an undercover detective.
That evening Cantrell was called at his home by Sergeant Callas, who wanted to discuss Rosa's $40 discrepancy with his boss at the station. The two men later drove to the Silver Dollar Bar with police officer Matt Bider to talk to Rosa. Rosa came out of the bar to see the three men, apparently very angry. He got into the car and sat in the back next to Bider and behind Callas, who was sitting in the driver's seat. Cantrell was sitting in the front passenger's seat.
Callas asked for Rosa's social security number. As he was writing it down, Cantrell claimed that he looked round and saw Rosa go for a gun. At that point he shot him. Cantrell then called in the FBI, the state criminal investigation department and the highway patrol to investigate, and booked himself into jail, expecting a routine hearing. Instead, he was sent to the Evanston
State Mental Hospital, where he was confined to a small cell for ten days. He was then released on $250,000 bond and told to get out of town, but not the state.
Cantrell engaged Gerry Spence
to defend him. At first Spence refused to take the case, but changed his mind after hearing Cantrell's version of what happened. Acquitted by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation, Cantrell found that the general public had not accepted the verdict. His safety director's job had been abolished and he eventually found work as a range detective in South Dakota
.
Cantrell died June 11, 2004 at the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, following a brief illness.
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 18,708 at the 2000 census. Rock Springs is the principal city of the Rock Springs micropolitan statistical area, which has a population of 37,975....
who was acquitted of killing one of his officers in 1978.
The son of Samuel Glenn, a Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
minister and Vesta Marie Robinson Cantrell, Cantrell was born in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. Cantrell excelled in sports and graduated from Plainfield High School
Plainfield High School (Indiana)
Plainfield High School in Plainfield, Indiana, USA, is a public high school of the Plainfield Community School Corporation.-History:...
in 1945 with a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
scholarship. Aspiring to be a coach, he had almost completed three years at Indiana State College when President Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
ordered the Berlin airlift in 1948. Cantrell immediately enlisted in the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and spent three years as a military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
man in the "bombed-out ruin" south of Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His tour of duty was then extended due to the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Upon discharge, he graduated with honors from the Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
State Police Academy.
An avid hunter, fisherman and marksman, he later visited Wyoming and decided to relocate there. Accepted into the Wyoming Highway Patrol
Wyoming Highway Patrol
The Wyoming Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for Wyoming, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Wyoming...
, he was assigned to the Rock Springs area in 1960. Although he liked his job, he later resigned from the highway patrol to lobby for a state police bill. "A little skeleton crew of highway patrolmen and a sheriff's department were understaffed," he said, explaining that he and his fellow officers were trying to create a more effective state police force.
The following January he was hired as a range detective in Lusk
Lusk, Wyoming
Lusk is a town in Niobrara County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,447 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Niobrara County. The town was laid out in June 1886 by engineers working on the Wyoming Central Railway. It was named after Frank S...
. His job took him all over Wyoming as well as neighboring states in pursuit of lawbreakers. Then, in 1976, following the death of his oldest son in a car accident, Cantrell and his wife decided to return to Rock Springs, where he worked for undersheriff
Undersheriff
An Undersheriff is an office derived from ancient British practice and still extant in, among other places, the United Kingdom and the United States, though somewhat different forms.-United States:...
Jim Stark. The following year Cantrell assumed the post of safety director of a badly demoralized Rock Springs police force. He then formed a detective division from existing officers and hired Michael Rosa as an undercover detective.
The killing of Michael Rosa
Not long after, Cantrell admonished Rosa for appearing on the witness stand in an unkempt manner. Cantrell said that Rosa later threatened him at the Sweetwater County Courthouse. Cantrell asked Rosa to meet him at the Holiday Inn on the afternoon of July 14, 1978, and, at one point, Rosa angrily said, "Where's your gun, old man?" Rosa had incurred a forty-dollar discrepancy on a drug-buying transaction and was also involved with a Rock Springs radio dispatcher, two situations that could have led to the married officer's dismissal from the force.That evening Cantrell was called at his home by Sergeant Callas, who wanted to discuss Rosa's $40 discrepancy with his boss at the station. The two men later drove to the Silver Dollar Bar with police officer Matt Bider to talk to Rosa. Rosa came out of the bar to see the three men, apparently very angry. He got into the car and sat in the back next to Bider and behind Callas, who was sitting in the driver's seat. Cantrell was sitting in the front passenger's seat.
Callas asked for Rosa's social security number. As he was writing it down, Cantrell claimed that he looked round and saw Rosa go for a gun. At that point he shot him. Cantrell then called in the FBI, the state criminal investigation department and the highway patrol to investigate, and booked himself into jail, expecting a routine hearing. Instead, he was sent to the Evanston
Evanston, Wyoming
Evanston is a city in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Uinta County.-Geography:Evanston is located at...
State Mental Hospital, where he was confined to a small cell for ten days. He was then released on $250,000 bond and told to get out of town, but not the state.
Cantrell engaged Gerry Spence
Gerry Spence
Gerry Spence is a trial lawyer in the United States. In 2008, he announced he would retire, at age 79, at the end of the Geoffrey Fieger trial in Detroit, MI. Spence states that he "has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney...
to defend him. At first Spence refused to take the case, but changed his mind after hearing Cantrell's version of what happened. Acquitted by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation, Cantrell found that the general public had not accepted the verdict. His safety director's job had been abolished and he eventually found work as a range detective in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
Cantrell died June 11, 2004 at the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, following a brief illness.