James J. P. McShane
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James Joseph Patrick McShane (March 17, 1909 – December 23, 1968) was the former Chief United States Marshal during part of the Civil Rights Movement.


Biography

McShane was born in 1909 in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. As head of the Executive Office for U.S. Marshals, he supervised federal agents during the
Freedom Rides Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions '' Morgan v. Virginia' ...
of 1961, but is most known for his role in leading the federal agents who escorted James Meredith, the first African American student at
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
in 1962. In November 1962, McShane was indicted by a Lafayette County Mississippi grand jury on charges that he "did incite a riot" in relation to his decision to fire tear gas into crowds of violent protesters during the Ole Miss riot of 1962. McShane subsequently gave himself up for arrest, was processed, and released. The U.S. District Court found that McShane acted under orders and statutory authority and "had reasonable cause to believe ... that the use of tear gas ... was a proper measure to be taken". The court granted
summary judgment In law, a summary judgment, also referred to as judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition, is a Judgment (law), judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full Trial (law), trial. Summa ...
in favor of McShane. Before being a U.S. Marshal, he worked for the Senate's select McClellan Committee, was chief of security and the personal bodyguard for President John F. Kennedy and a
New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
homicide detective. He died on December 23, 1968, from pneumonia in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
. He had a wife, Teresa Curtis, and two children.


References

1909 births 1968 deaths Law enforcement officials from Washington, D.C. 20th-century United States Marshals {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub American male boxers Law enforcement officials from New York City