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 At the time of his death from a gunshot wound, 41-year-old Stephen Lawson
was a first-class constable with the Alberta Provincial Police (APP). He was
a relatively new member of the force, having joined only six
months earlier. He was by no means inexperienced, however, and had served as
a police officer for over 10 years, most notably as the chief of police in
both Macleod and Fernie, British Columbia. His police career was accompanied
by three years of army life in the Fort Garry Horse and actions in WWI for
which he received a medal for meritorious service.
When he transferred to the Alberta Provincial Police in 1922, Lawson was
assigned to “D” Division, which extended east and west from Lethbridge to
the Saskatchewan and British Columbia and south to the United States border.
Stationed in Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass, Lawson was in the APP district
of Blairmore, home to Emilio Picariello and Florence Lassandro and one of
the busiest for illegal liquor traffic.
Lawson's previous
police experience in
the area was considered highly beneficial, and in a letter written by W.C.
Bryan, Superintendent of the Alberta Provincial Police, Lawson was
recommended to be “the ideal man for either Coleman or Bellevue . . . as he
knows pretty nearly every bootlegger and crook running through the Pass.”
1
 A Masonic-military funeral for Lawson was held in Macleod on
September 25, four days after he was shot outside his home in Coleman.
Alongside his widow and five children, scores attended the service and in the
town flags were flown at half-mast in tribute.
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Heritage Community Foundation Presents
;)
;)
;)
