The Cold-Blooded Revenge Of Buford Pusser
Bettmann/Getty ImagesBuford Pusser in 1973.
Just before dawn on Aug. 12, 1967, McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser got a call about a disturbance on a side road just outside of town. Though it was early, his wife Pauline decided to accompany him to investigate. As they drove through the small Tennessee town toward the site of the disturbance, a car pulled up alongside theirs.
Suddenly the occupants opened fire on the Pusser’s car, killing Pauline and wounding Pusser.
After he returned from the hospital, Buford Pusser vowed then that before he died, he would bring everyone who killed his wife to justice if it was the last thing he did.
At the age of 25, he was elected chief of police and constable, a position in which he served for two years. In 1964, he was elected sheriff, making him the youngest sheriff in police history.
As a law enforcement official Pusser targeted gangs the operated in the state. As such, he survived several assassination attempts, and the night his wife was killed was believed to be one such attempt.
The guilt he felt over his wife’s deaths motivated him to fight back against the mob and make them pay retribution for his wife’s life. Find out just how he did that, and the drastic measures he took to make sure the right people paid the price for his wife’s murder.
