National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Officer Rank: Patrolman

Memorial Panel: 38-W: 4

Department: Memphis, Tennessee, P.D.

End of Watch: January 12, 1983

Cause: BEAT

Age: Unk

Years of Service: Unk

Description: Officer Hester and fellow officers went to a residence to obtain information about a purse snatching incident. The group of people living in the house were a religious cult with an affinity for drinking wine and smoking marijuana. Officer Hester and Officer Ray Schwill entered the residence but immediately recognized that the people were not emotionally stable. They radioed for help as they fought their way out of the house. Officer Schwill was shot in the face with his own gun but managed to escape. Officer Hester was overpowered and his weapon taken. Patrolman William Aiken went inside the house shooting, reloaded and went in again but was unable to retrieve Officer Hester. A thirty hour standoff began with Officer Hester crying out for help and his captors cursing and berating him. Finally, the decision was made to fire tear gas into the house. Officer Hester's beaten body was found at the front of the house. He had been beaten with his own gun and flashlight.