End of Watch:
February 21, 1915
Age: 29
United States Marshals Service
Homicide: Shooting
Deputy Joseph C. Akin was a deputized member of a posse raised in Dolores, Colorado, to serve a federal murder warrant on a member of a Piute band living along the Colorado-Utah border.
The fugitive band was located camped on the outskirts of Bluff, Utah. As the posse rode toward the camp, they were fired upon by several members of the band. A prolonged gun battle ensued during which Deputy Akin was shot through the head and instantly killed. An unknown number of Piute Indians were also killed. The band eventually surrendered and several of its members were incarcerated. No one person was tried for the murder of Deputy Akin. He was survived by his wife and young daughter, and is buried in Dolores, Colorado.
The bronze memorial name plaque of Deputy Joseph C. Akin is sponsored by is sponsored by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, Chief of Law Enforcement Services, Ken Wallentine and Janet Wallentine.