Feb. 25—HIGH POINT — Santa Claus himself couldn’t have given High Point police officer J. Herbert Oglesby a better gift than the one he received on the evening of Dec. 23, 1938.
The 29-year-old policeman and his partner, Officer M.I. Ormand, were on their way to an emergency call at a home on Grimes Street. It seems the Talkington brothers, Comer and Earl, were having a spat of some sort when Earl pulled out a gun and fired a shot at his brother. That’s when Comer, who owned the house, called the police.
Oglesby and Ormand were dispatched to the scene. They likely were somewhat familiar with Earl Talkington — or at least his reputation — as he had faced an assault charge in 1936 and an assault with a deadly weapon charge in 1937. Oglesby, a husband and father, likely knew to be cautious around a loose cannon like Talkington.
“When the officers arrived at the address, however, Earl Talkington had hidden in a shed at the rear of the house,” The High Point Enterprise reported the next day.
“When Oglesby got within 12 or 15 feet of him, the man opened fire, and a bullet struck the officer squarely over the heart.”
Normally, such a shot would’ve killed the young officer, well, in a heartbeat … but that’s where divine intervention came into play.
You see, in a pocket over his heart, Oglesby carried a small citation booklet, an otherwise insignificant tool for writing up traffic scofflaws. On this occasion, though, the citation booklet served as a bulletproof vest. The impact of being shot knocked Oglesby to the ground, but the bullet itself lost its velocity when it pierced the inch-thick booklet. The bullet didn’t even scratch the officer, falling weakly between his shirt and skin.
Stunned but relieved that he wasn’t hurt, Oglesby got back up, and he and his partner arrested Talkington without further incident. The suspect was charged with “secret assault” — maliciously assaulting someone in a secret manner — and held under $2,000 bond.
Meanwhile, Oglesby got to go home to his family that night — and celebrate Christmas with them two days later — thanks to a fortuitously placed citation booklet.
Not only that, but Oglesby would live another 58 years after his close call, dying in 1996 at the ripe old age of 87.