Reeves, Bass

(1838 –1910) was an American law enforcement officer. He was the first black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River. He worked mostly in Arkansas and the Oklahoma Territory. During his long career, he had on his record more than 3,000 arrests of dangerous criminals, and shot and killed 14 of them in alleged self-defense. Reeves had to arrest his own son for murder, Benjamin “Bennie” Reeves, who was charged with the murder of his own wife. Deputy Marshal Reeves was disturbed and shaken by the incident, but demanded the responsibility of bringing Bennie to justice. Bennie was eventually tracked and captured, tried, and convicted. He served 11 years at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas before his sentence was commuted; he reportedly lived the rest of his life as a model citizen.