Lafayette Reid Mercer

Lafayette Reid Mercer, for more than twenty years a policeman in Steubenville, Ohio was killed last July while arresting a drunken man. Mr. Mercer was one of the most efficient officers on the force and had kept his position during many changes of the city administration. One of the local newspapers said: "He combined intelligence with an utter lack of fear." White people of the highest character who desired special protection for women members of their family always put them in the care of Mr. Mercer.

He was born fifty-two years ago in Mt. Pleasant, Ohio and was three or four generations removed from slavery. Mercer's parents a few years ago celebrated their golden wedding. He leaves a brother who is a physician, another who is a dentist, and another a trusted employee of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. Beside these there are eight other brothers and sisters.

The funeral service of the murdered policeman was a remarkable tribute to his character. The body lay in state in the courthouse and thousands of white and colored people paid their respect. The city offices were closed and business largely suspended while the officials, police and fire departments, joined in the funeral procession. [The Crisis Magazine, February 1915]