During prohibition, one drunk cop killed another in Lyle, Minnesota

Sep. 12—LYLE, Minn. — Prohibition was a rough time for law enforcement, with officers killed in the line of duty reaching sustained levels never seen before or since.

Lyle City Marshal Christian Johnson had just come into the job two years prior and by all accounts, was loved by the residents of Lyle. His assistant Marshal, Carl Springer, was appointed to the position after losing the previous election to Johnson. Both were family men, married and with numerous children.

Alcohol had been outlawed in the nation since 1919 and

Southeast Minnesota was a hotbed of illicit activity.

So much so that Springer, an officer of the law, was known to indulge.

Springer had a disjointed life. He was an Army veteran, having enlisted in 1918, he served time in France during some of the most senseless fighting of the war. Before becoming the assistant Marshal, he was employed at a local garage, ran a restaurant and operated a pool hall.

Johnson, on the other hand, followed a different path. He was born in Norway, making his way to America at age 22 and settling in Mona, Iowa, with his parents. After working for Illinois Central Railroad Company for 18 years, he bought a farm 4 miles west of Lyle and became a rural mail carrier for nine years before winning his election in 1920.

"In his dealings, he was unusually courteous and obliging and but for the booze demon, Carl Springer would have been alive today, a useful and respected citizen in this community," according to his obituary in The Lyle Tribune in 1922.

Springer's drinking would eventually change his life and the life of his boss during the early morning hours of Oct. 5, 1922.

The two men were at the Commercial Hotel in Lyle when Springer, apparently too drunk to be in public, was taken home by Johnson.

While the walk home was uneventful, Springer later became enraged and grabbed his Army .45-caliber pistol. He told a Lyle resident that he was going to kill the Marshal because Johnson said Springer was drunk and took him home.

A few minutes later, Springer saw Johnson in front of the hotel around 2 a.m. He fired six shots at Johnson, one hitting Johnson in the shoulder and another in the wrist.

Springer fled the scene and told another Lyle resident what he had done and that he was going to kill himself.

The sheriff's office was notified and locals began to hunt for Springer, whose lifeless body was found around 5:30 a.m., lying against an old barn.

He had taken his own life with the gun used to kill Johnson.

Johnson was 66 and left behind a wife, six sons and two daughters. Springer, 48, left behind a wife and three children, including a baby boy about a year old.

County officials convened a six-person jury that listened to testimony from several witnesses. Their verdict determined that Springer shot and killed Johnson and then Springer took his own life with the same weapon.

"Shall we who knew him, whose life ended so tragically and so suddenly, strive to be more loyal citizens, betters friends, neighbors and pals," reads part of Johnson's obituary.

The Rev. A. Elmer Moe spoke at both of the men's heavily-attended funerals.

"He urged his hearers to live more Christian lives, that their influence might radiate and permeate the entire community and strengthening those who might otherwise err," a report in the Lyle Tribune noted.