O. D. Henderson

O. D. "O'Dee" Henderson (born April 16, 1915 in Clark County; died May 9, 1940 at Fairfield City Hall) was a "catcher" at Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad company's Fairfield Tin Mill, and the victim of homicide at the hands of the Fairfield Police Department.

Henderson was the son of Ben and Lillie (Wilson) Henderson of Clark County. The family later moved to 121 10th Street North in Birmingham. Early on the morning of May 9, 1940, O. D. Henderson bumped into a fellow TCI employee, M. M. Hagood in front of the mill office in Westfield. Hagood found Fairfield police officer W. T. Glenn nearby and reported that Henderson had knocked him to the ground. Glenn held Henderson at bay while Hagood exacted retribution by beating him, then took him into custody and drove him to City Hall in his squad car.

After arriving at the station, Henderson was bound to a chair in the city jail where Hagood and another officer, Thomas Nelson, continued to beat him with their fists, a blackjack, a leather strop and a section of rubber hosepipe, ignoring pleas for mercy. Glenn, along with D. M. Flourney and Sergeant W. G. Cook, witnessed the beating. Another officer, Ed Taylor, heard it from an adjacent room. Officer Nelson then shot Henderson three times in the chest, killing him.

Henderson's body was taken to TCI Hospital in Fairfield, where he was examined by the Jefferson County Coroner. The death by gunshot was ruled a homicide. Henderson's father claimed his body and buried him at the Oakdale Cemetery in Brighton.

Fairfield's police chief suspended Nelson for 30 days to conduct an investigation. At the urging of Methodist minister Ted Hightower the Fairfield City Council voted on a motion to dismiss all of the officers directly involved in Henderson's beating.

(report)