Ernest J. May
THE NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S “THIS WAS NEVADA” SERIES
October 16, 1988
ERNIE MAY: MARTYRED LAS VEGAS POLICE OFFICER
By Phillip I. Earl
…Ernest James May -“Ernie” to his many friends – a Las Vegas police officer killed in a shootout on June 8, 1933, the first city officer to be slain in the course of his work.
Thirty-eight years of age and the father of six children, he was a native of Marysville, Utah, and the son of Las Vegas pioneer Rose Warren… His older brother Joe, had become a member of the police department in 1911 and young Ernie often made rounds with him after his shift at the rail yards. Ernie also served with the Boulder City department for a time before joining the Las Vegas force in 1931.
About 7:30 that fateful evening, a call came in that a man was drunk and firing a weapon at the Clark Auto Court on South Fifth Street. Officer May took the call, but a resident of the court, Richard Morris, showed up before he left and rode out with him. Morris said that it was the owner of the facility, William H. Clark, who was causing the trouble. Clark had been drinking for several days, he said, and was in an insane rage, having fired a shot at the woman who was living with him, Mable Winters.
May reached the scene at 7:45, parking near the east end of the court some fifteen feet from Clark’s apartment. What happened next later became the subject of considerable controversy. First reports had it that Clark was standing in an open doorway holding a gun on Dorris Hayden. “I’m going to take you or some with me.” He reportedly said to her just as May drove up, and took two shots at the woman, but missed. She fell, feigning death so he would not shoot again, and Clark turned his attention to May, firing one shot which hit the officer in the right breast as he tried to crouch behind another car. May, his weapon drawn, fired six times at Clark. Four bullets hit their mark, but Clark staggered to his feet and made his way to the west side where he fell. May apparently followed him. After making sure he was dead, he walked around to the southeast corner and collapsed.
The residents of the court did not notify the police headquarters for twenty minutes. Among the officers who responded was Joe May, Las Vegas Constable at that time, who found both his brother’s body and that of Clark. Five residents were taken into custody as witnesses, but the exact sequence of events was never resolved since they told conflicting stories at the subsequent hearing…
At May’s funeral three days later, Bishop Bryan L. Bunker of the Latter Day Saint Church presided. The ceremonies drew the largest crowd in memory, May’s brother officers serving as pallbearers and members of the railroad union acting in an honorary capacity. Bishop Bunker and others who spoke used the occasion to urge their fellow citizens to take a stand against Las Vegas’ “criminal element,”…
…A plaque in honor of the courageous officer was placed in Las Vegas City Hall a few weeks after his death and a street intersecting the Tonopah Highway north of town, Ernie May Boulevard, was name in his honor in recent years…
Plaque Location & Image
Center Wall Column 7 Row E View The Plaque