Dixon Officer Killed in Line of Duty Finally Receives Fitting Recognition and Memorial

Dixon police constable Daniel McKinnon, killed in the line of duty in 1918, and his wife, who died 14 years later by an equally violent accident, might be amazed that Mr. McKinnon’s courage is being remembered 93 years later by the town he served.

This remembrance had its genesis several years ago when Dixon’s Mike Smith became aware that McKinnon’s ultimate sacrifice, as Police Chief Jon Cox put it, was honored in several places outside of Dixon, but not in the city itself. Smith thought an observance and memorial would be appropriate and brought his idea to Cox and the Rotary Club. The club, in turn, brought the idea to Boy Scout Troop 261, where 16-year-old Scout Tarron Lane took on the project to help him reach the rank of Eagle Scout.

As a result of Lane’s carrying the ball for two years of coordination and preparation, some 50 people came together in front of Dixon’s Police Department building Tuesday afternoon in mild, sunny weather to dedicate a bench, plaque and garden honoring Constable McKinnon.

A 1952 Dixon Tribune article recounted the circumstances which led to McKinnon’s untimely death: “Daniel was killed by a Mexican who had run amuck with an old, 32-calibre revolver. The Mexican had been kicked off a freight train at Batavia (a grain shipping point between Dixon and Elmira). When the train finally stopped he went looking for the brakeman but got the wrong one, nevertheless opened fire, a bullet finally hitting the brakeman in the thigh. Brought to Dixon in a buggy by Miss Frank of Batavia, he informed Chief Clay Grove, who called Constable McKinnon, and they started down the old highway in a car driven by the late (first name is unclear) Cox. Out of the fog shortly came a man swinging a gun. The officers, with guns in hand, got out, one on each side of the car. The Mexican was accosted by the constable, who, with his gun unraised tried to argue the man to drop his weapon. Instead, (the stranger) fired at close quarters, the bullet cutting the artery just above the heart. McKinnon wildly fired twice, then fell unconscious.

“Chief Grove pulled trigger (sic) as the Mexican raised his gun, but came (sic) only a click of the hammer, the Chief having cleaned his gun a few days before and forgotten to reload. The Mexican fired at him twice but missed, then turned and ran. Grove reloaded with shells taken from McKinnon’s gun and blazed away. At his last shot the man fell, the bullet getting him in the upper part of a hip.”

McKinnon died on the scene, but the assailant died later while in custody, having been taken from Dixon before a lynch mob could form. McKinnon left behind his wife and a son.  

For Tuesday’s ceremony, many of McKinnon’s descendants attended, including granddaughter Valerie Jones, along with Dixon police officers, members of the community, a Scout honor guard, and Scout Tarron Lane.

Dixon Police Chief Jon Cox said, “Constable McKinnon … attempted to take an armed suspect into custody and as was his fashion, he was not a violent man, he was a peacemaker. … Rather than going out and gunning down a criminal … in his true nature, he attempted to bring that person into custody in a peaceful manner. He approached the suspect … and in that encounter he laid down his life. So he could have been an aggressive, gun-tottin’ lawman, and probably shot this man, but instead he tried to talk him out of the situation and … in doing so he laid down his life. That’s indicative of his style.”

Following Cox, Tarron Lane described being in the Cub and Boy Scouts since age 8, and working to obtain the needed merit badges to attain the Eagle rank. This memorial project, which involved working with community officials and organizations such as the Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs, and raising approximately $1,500, will constitute his needed leadership service project to become an Eagle Scout, scouting’s highest achievement. He also researched Constable McKinnon’s life, which began in Canada, and he helped contact McKinnon’s living relatives.

McKinnon’s granddaughter Valerie Jones, now a grandmother or great-grandmother, spoke briefly, saying she’d lain in bed at night and thought of a great speech, but upon getting up had forgotten it. “I know my whole family is grateful and thankful,” she said.

After the ceremony and the unveiling of the plaque, a memorial wreath was carried in an old-fashioned, horse-drawn hearse, led by strains from a kilted bagpiper and a riderless horse with boots in the stirrups. The procession proceeded slowly down First Street to the Silveyville Cemetery and McKinnon’s gravesite.

There, Police Chaplain Cathy Morris spoke: “We pray that we will learn from (McKinnon’s) example and that we too will be able to act on behalf of others when that time is called.” McKinnon’s relatives, led by Valerie Jones, then placed flowers next to the gravestone.

One anomaly was observed by this writer after later looking at photos of the McKinnon gravestone: On it, in faded lettering, McKinnon is spelled “MacKinnon.” Perhaps as a final honor to the departed constable, a new gravestone with the proper spelling could be installed.