Libby remembers former police chief who gave his life in line of duty
Members of the Bockman Putman family attended a dedication of a memorial for former Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman on Sunday, April 28, 2024, at Libby Police Department headquarters. Bockman was killed in the line of duty on April 28, 1924. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Albia and John Bockman, circa 1920, Libby, Montana. (Photo courtesy Bockman Putman family)
Brent Teske speaks at an April 28, 2024, ceremony at the Libby Police Department where a memorial was unveiled in the name of former Libby Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman. Bockman died in the line of duty on April 28, 1924, in Libby at the Great Northern Railway yard. Teske led the effort to recognize the fallen law man. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Libby Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman
Current Libby Police Chief Cody Ercanbrack speaks at an April 28, 2024, ceremony at the Libby Police Department where a memorial was unveiled in the name of former Libby Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman. Bockman died in the line of duty on April 28, 1924, in Libby at the Great Northern Railway yard. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Attendees observe a memorial plaque in the name of former Libby Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman at an April 28, 2024, ceremony at the Libby Police Department. Bockman died in the line of duty on April 28, 1924, in Libby at the Great Northern Railway yard. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Dee Teske sizes up a display of old The Western News stories and photographs of former Libby Chief of Police John Ferdinand Bockman at an April 28, 2024, ceremony at the Libby Police Department. Bockman died in the line of duty on April 28, 1924, in Libby at the Great Northern Railway yard. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
John Ferdinand Bockman was a young man in his early 30s when he was summoned from his home late on the night of Monday, April 28, 1924.
Bockman was the Chief of Police in Libby at the time and he was called out after a worker with the Great Northern Railway had a frightening encounter with a dangerous man who would later take Bockman’s life.
One hundred years to the day of Bockman’s demise at the hands of the gunman, the beloved officer was memorialized in a ceremony at the Libby Police Department headquarters on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
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