Elda Lawrence White, City Marshal 

City of Paden
 

On Friday, June 15, 1962, Marshal “Bigun” White arrested a young man named Larry Cooper for shooting off fireworks and took him to jail.  The next night, Saturday, June 16^th, Henry Cooper and his wife, Larry’s parents, were driving and saw Marshal White in his car along Highway 62, the main street of Paden. The couple stopped and confronted White about what they thought was the mistreatment of their son the day before. Mrs. Cooper claimed that Marshal White had struck their son with a blackjack during his arrest. Standing by the Cooper’s car, White and the couple exchanged words. Mrs. Cooper pulled a .32 automatic pistol from her purse and handed it to her husband, who then shot Marshal White in the chest.  The Coopers then left the scene as the marshal walked back to his car holding his stomach. White was taken to a hospital in Prague then later transferred to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Henry Cooper was arrested by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper near Okemah. Cooper claimed that he had fired in self-defense, stating that Chief White had tried to draw his gun on him first.  The men who took White to the hospital in Oklahoma City stated that his weapon was strapped in his holster. Henry Cooper pled guilty to manslaughter but appealed his sentence and only served 14 months.