"Pauline Pusser was the wife of a sheriff, so her chores were a bit unusual. She cooked meals for prisoners and cleaned the jailhouse between raising her children and sending Christmas cards. But on the early morning of August 12, 1967, Pauline did something she'd never done before. She went on a police call with her husband. Sheriff Buford Pusser was famous in Tennessee for busting the moonshine stills and prostitution rings forged by the"
"Just before dawn, they got in Buford's squad car and started down the quiet two-way street to State Line Road. Buford would later tell investigators that about 20 miles later, on New Hope Road, a car with no headlights sped up beside the Pussers and began shooting. Pauline was hit. He floored the accelerator, pulled off to one side, and frantically searched for where his wife had been shot. The speeding driver reappeared, pulled up on the other side of the road, and fired again,"
Pauline Pusser balanced household and jailhouse duties, cooking for prisoners and raising children. On August 12, 1967, an anonymous pre-dawn call prompted Sheriff Buford Pusser to drive to the state line, and Pauline accompanied him. On New Hope Road a car with no headlights pulled alongside and opened fire; Pauline was fatally shot in the forehead and Buford received a bullet wound to his left jaw. Buford had been known for breaking up moonshine stills and prostitution rings tied to the State Line Mob. The shooting generated national headlines, inspired books, songs, and the "Walking Tall" films, and left a lasting local legacy.
Read at Business Insider
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