SCOUTING YESTERDAY | Deadwood police chief's shooting of prize fighter brings buzz to Black Hills

This week in South Dakota history: Jan. 3-9

Spectators of the Nestor Erickson first-degree manslaughter trial (left to right) Mrs. Matilda Anderson, Mrs. Leone Anderson and Mrs. Fern Neal of Rapid City had not missed a day of the trial. Photo: Rapid City Journal

South Dakotans in the Black Hills were captivated by a use-of-force case involving a police chief and former prize fighter that went to trial 75 years ago this week.

Jury selection got the first-degree manslaughter trial of Deadwood Chief of Police Nestor Erickson underway on Jan. 9, 1950, after the lawman the prior summer fatally shot John Gorman, who’d not only been a trained boxer but also a former police within Erickson’s agency.

Known as “Johnny Ryan” in the ring, Gorham had ran for — but lost — the Democratic Party’s 1938 nomination for Lawrence County Sheriff. Following his defeat, Gorham later joined the Deadwood Police Department, according to the Deadwood Pioneer-Times.

Though his tenure as a lawman didn’t last, his reputation as a bruiser persisted until his highly-publicized death.

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