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1933 shooting involved fierce political dispute By Paul Fattig of the Mail Tribune The pre-dawn shooting of Scott Clauson on Saturday marked the first time in more than 66 years that a Medford police officer was shot in the line of duty, police said. Medford police officer George Prescott was shot and killed on March 16, 1933, at a home on North Peach Street, less than 10 blocks from the site of Saturday's shooting. Unlike Clauson, Prescott, 63, was shot in broad daylight while attempting to serve a warrant during a turbulent political period dubbed "Jackson County's Civil War." The 1933 incident has been chronicled in the files of the Mail Tribune and by historian Jeff LaLande in the Southern Oregon Historical Society's 1993 book, "Land in Common." Leading up to the shooting was a political movement known as the "Good Government Congress" headed by political activist Llewellyn A. Banks. He was also the publisher of the now-defunct Medford Daily News. Joining him in the political group's leadership was Earl Fehl, publisher of a local weekly newspaper and an elected county judge. The two increasingly editorialized against those in power, calling them "The Gang." After a few years of turmoil, the two formed the Good Government Congress early in 1933. Some local residents felt the group was patriotic; others believed Banks wanted to become dictator of Jackson County. The result was a series of campaign rallies, name calling and conflict. Several local leaders hired armed guards for protection. On Feb. 20, 1933, men acting under orders from Banks and Fehl stole election ballots that had been stored for a recount of a contested election for sheriff. Some of the ballots were later found floating in the Rogue River. Several members of the group, including Fehl, the county sheriff and the mayor of the city of Rogue River, were arrested in connection with the theft. After party members threatened to free their leaders, Oregon State Police officers armed with submachine guns were stationed in front of the county jail. Although Banks was not directly implicated, a state circuit court subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest. It was that warrant which brought Prescott, along with three other officers, to Bank's house on North Peach Street at 10:20 a.m. on March 16, 1933. Banks had publicly vowed to kill any officer who attempted to bring him into what he claimed was a biased judicial system. Banks' wife answered the door that morning, but started to close it upon learning that Prescott was there to serve the warrant, according to 1933 Oregon State Police reports. Prescott put his foot on the threshold to stop the door from being closed. That was when Llewellyn Banks, standing behind his wife, fired a hunting rifle, sending a bullet through Prescott's left hand and into his chest. Prescott died on the door step. The three other officers with Prescott summoned help. Banks was arrested, convicted in a trial held in Eugene and sentenced to life in the Oregon State Penitentiary. He died behind bars Sept. 21, 1945, at the age of 73. Fehl, sent to jail for his role in the ballot thefts, was later paroled and lived until 1962. The Good Government Congress faded away after the shooting of Prescott. The Mail Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize for editorials about the congress written by publisher and editor Robert W. Ruhl. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA