Slain Kentucky marshal honored over a century later in Texas

A federal officer gunned down while transporting prisoners through eastern Kentucky was honored at a small ceremony Friday in Texas, more than a century after his death.

Senior officials with the U.S. Marshals Service and judges gathered at a courthouse in Plano, a suburb northeast of Dallas, to present a flag to Russell Wireman's great-great-great grandson, Gary Hulsey.

Wireman, a marshal, was shot in the chest in 1889 during the so-called Moonshine War, but his death until recently has been a lost part of history. The presentation of the folded flag was part of an effort by America's oldest federal law-enforcement agency to recognize officers whose deaths during a particularly deadly period of its history had been obscured by the passing decades.

U.S. Marshals John Garrison, left, and Richard Taylor, right, present a folded flag to Gary Hulsey, his wife Jessica and daughter Summer, all residents of Wylie, Texas, during a ceremony at the United States Courthouse in Plano, Texas, Friday, July 26, 2019. Judges and senior officials with the U.S. Marshals Service gathered at the North Texas courthouse to present the flag and other items to the great, great, great grandson of Marshal Russell Wireman, who was shot in the chest in 1889 during the so-called "Moonshine War." (AP PhotoTony Gutierrez)

"We have a saying in the law enforcement community that we never forget," said Richard Taylor, U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Texas. "One hundred and 30 years later, we never forget."

Wireman, 32, lived in Kentucky with his wife and four children, U.S. Marshals Service historian David Turk said. He was one of many marshals killed during a federal government crackdown of illegal liquor distilleries in the Appalachian Mountains around the turn of the 20th century, Turk said.

The marshal had been transporting prisoners through Knott County, Kentucky, when he was ambushed by a posse that was looking to free the moonshiners, Turk said. A gunfight broke out and Wireman was shot in the chest while trying to cross a shallow place in a river.

U.S. Marshal John Garrison addresses attendees at a ceremony honoring Marshal Russell Wireman, who was killed in the line of duty over a century ago, at the United States Courthouse in Plano, Texas, Friday, July 26, 2019. Judges and senior officials with the U.S. Marshals Service gathered at a North Texas courthouse to present a folded flag to the great, great, great grandson of Marshal Russell Wireman, who was shot in the chest in 1889 during the so-called "Moonshine War." (AP PhotoTony Gutierrez)

Hulsey, 40, of Wylie, Texas, said he's related to Wireman through one of the late marshal's four daughters. He said he knows little about his great-great-great grandfather but was honored when told Wireman's name would be added to the memorial wall at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Turk said he and marshals in Kentucky pieced together what happened to Wireman through newspaper accounts, court documents and other records. They eventually found Hulsey through an ancestry website.

In the many years that have passed since Wireman's death, some things in Knott County have endured, Taylor said.

U.S. Marshal Richard Taylor addresses attendees at a ceremony honoring Marshal Russell Wireman, who was killed in the line of duty over a century ago, at the United States Courthouse in Plano, Texas, Friday, July 26, 2019. Judges and senior officials with the U.S. Marshals Service gathered at a North Texas courthouse to present a folded flag to the great, great, great grandson of Marshal Russell Wireman, who was shot in the chest in 1889 during the so-called "Moonshine War." (AP PhotoTony Gutierrez)

"By the way," he said, "it's still a dry county today."

U.S. Marshals John Garrison, left, and Richard, Taylor, right, carry a folded flag they presented to family members of Marshal Russell Wireman, who was killed over a century ago, during a ceremony at the United States Courthouse in Plano, Texas, Friday, July 26, 2019. Judges and senior officials with the U.S. Marshals Service gathered at the North Texas courthouse to present the flag and other items to the great, great, great grandson of Marshal Russell Wireman, who was shot in the chest in 1889 during the so-called "Moonshine War." (AP PhotoTony Gutierrez)

Gary Hulsey, a 40-year-old resident of Wylie, Texas, poses for a photo with his wife Jessica, left, and daughter, Summer, right, holding a folded flag that was presented to them during a ceremony at the United States Courthouse in Plano, Texas, Friday, July 26, 2019. Judges and senior officials with the U.S. Marshals Service gathered at the North Texas courthouse to present the flag to the great, great, great grandson of Marshal Russell Wireman, who was shot in the chest in 1889 during the so-called "Moonshine War." (AP PhotoTony Gutierrez)

Richard Taylor, left, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas presents Gary Hulsey, a 40-year-old resident of Wylie, Texas, and his wife, Jessica, with a "Challenge Coin," at the United States Courthouse in Plano, Texas, Friday, July 26, 2019. Marshal Russell Wireman, a federal officer gunned down while transporting prisoners through eastern Kentucky, was honored at a small ceremony Friday morning, more than a century after his death. (AP PhotoTony Gutierrez)

LONDON (AP) — The chief of the British police force that recommended that fans from Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv be banned from attending a football match against English Premier League club Aston Villa in Birmingham last year retired Friday following criticism of that decision.

Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, will step down with immediate effect as the head of the force following mounting pressure for him to quit over the controversy.

His retirement was announced by the locally elected police and crime commissioner Simon Foster, who had the sole power to fire Guildford, outside police headquarters in Birmingham. Guildford, he said, had “acted with honor."

Guildford, 52, then said the "political and media frenzy” around his position had become “detrimental” to the force.

Guildford's position has been precarious since Wednesday's publication of a report into the decision to ban Maccabi fans from attending the match at Villa Park on Nov. 6. The report found the decision last year overstated the threat posed by Maccabi fans and understated the risk to them. Following the publication of what she termed the “damning” report, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had lost confidence in Guildford and urged him to stand down.

“By stepping down, Craig Guildford has done the right thing today," she said after his retirement was announced, adding that the report had “set out a catalogue of failings that have harmed trust in West Midlands Police.”

Mahmood said she didn’t have the power to fire Guildford as a result of a policy change by the previous Conservative government in 2011, but she was looking to reinstate that power to home secretaries. Currently, locally elected police and crime commissioners have that power.

The ban came at a time of heightened concerns about antisemitism in Britain following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue and calls from Palestinians and their supporters for a sports boycott of Israel over the war with Hamas in Gaza.

West Midlands Police said at the time it had deemed the match to be high risk “based on current intelligence and previous incidents,” including violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi played Ajax in Amsterdam last season. That view heavily influenced the local safety and advisory board, which made the ultimate decision.

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, is reflected as Britain's Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood speaks to members of the Jewish community at the Community Security Trust (CST) in north west London, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Carlos Jasso, Pool Photo via AP, file)

FILE - Maccabi Tel Aviv's fan is escorted by police ahead of the Europa League soccer match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, England, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples, file)