Darius Quimby was an American police officer who is recognized as the first known
law enforcement officer
A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...
to be killed in the line of duty in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Constable Quimby worked for the
Albany County Constable's Office of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. He was killed on January 3, 1791. He may have been an unpaid peace officer.
Constable Quimby was killed while attempting to arrest a man named Whiting Sweeting of
Stephentown, New York
Stephentown is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 2,791 at the 2020 census.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census results, Stephentown. https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Stephento ...
on a
trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person (see below), trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery ...
ing warrant. A 1790 census lists a Darius in the family of Ephraim Quimby there and of an age eligible to be a constable. Sweeting was convicted of murdering Constable Quimby in the July session of the
New York State Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...
and hanged on August 26, 1791.
Hanging of Whiting Sweeting for the murder of Constable Darius Quimby
/ref>
References
Sources
*
*https://web.archive.org/web/20090201171548/http://reservepolice.org/History_of_Reserves.htm
*https://web.archive.org/web/20140710161814/http://www.villageofshorewood.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B679B50AE-E6F1-4332-BB6A-FB101F9E6173%7D
External links
*
The narrative of Whiting Sweeting : who was executed at Albany, the 26th of August, 1791. : Containing, an account of his trial before the Supreme Court of Judicature of the state of New-York, at the July term, 1791, for the murder of Darius Quimby
'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quimby, Darius
1791 deaths
Year of birth missing
Place of birth missing
American police officers killed in the line of duty
Deaths by stabbing in New York (state)
People from Stephentown, New York
People murdered in New York (state)
Law enforcement officials from New York (state)
18th-century murders in the United States
1791 crimes in the United States