Desirable Colt Commercial Government Model pistol belonging to William Henderson ‘Ben’ Turpin, one of the first black police officers in Detroit Police Department. Serial #C153676, .45 ACP, 5″ barrel with a fine, bright bore that has some minor freckling within the grooves at the breech. This is a 1928-made pistol with matching numbered frame and slide, that has retained about 45-50% of the original blue finish, mostly on protected areas of the frame. The remainder of the metal has a patina that ranges in color from dull plum-brown, to pewter gray. The slide is also hand engraved on the right side just below the ejection port, “Henderson Turpin,” in Gothic lettering. The right grip panel is a period mother-of-pearl replacement, but the original checkered walnut grip is present on the left and has distinct wear patterns indicative of heavy use. A single magazine with polished floorplate is included. Accompanied by a binder of research material about Turpin's career and a 2015 Colt Factory Letter.
William Henderson ‘Ben’ Turpin was a native of Kentucky, born in 1897, who worked as a tanner and boot-black before moving to Detroit in 1925 where he found employment as a porter at Union Station. By 1927 he had become a beat cop for the Detroit PD patrolling the Paradise Valley and Black Bottom neighborhoods, and became noted for carrying pear-handled revolvers on patrol. Turpin was a large and burly man who commanded respect in the neighborhoods he patrolled, even taking a personal interest in keeping a young Joe Louis (then going by his given name, Joe Barrow) out of the criminal mischief so prevalent in the youth of the time. He was also a baseball fanatic, and even organized, and managed his own team: the Turpin Athletic Club Black Bottoms. He is reputed to have played catcher on occasion while wearing his trademark pearl-handled pistols on each hip.
On the night of October 14, 1929, an off-duty Turpin had a chance encounter with Louis P. Bryant (a soldier in Detroit's notorious ‘Purple,’ or ‘Sugar House Gang’) during which Turpin pulled his pistol and shot him dead. A trial for murder followed which saw Turpin quickly acquitted, and awarded a police commendation for ‘exceptional bravery’ in ridding the city of a dangerous racketeer. As he was off-duty at the time, he would not have been carrying his service revolver, but something easier to conceal, and this pistol could very well be the one Turpin used to kill Bryant. A 2015 dated Colt Factory Letter accompanies the gun that lists a shipping date of November 17, 1928, to Lou J. Eppinger of Detroit, MI. There were two guns in the shipment, and we have little doubt that both were ordered for Turpin (indeed, the other pearl grip was probably installed on that pistol). This is a fantastic piece of law enforcement history, that belonged to a pioneer African-American policeman, and would make a splendid addition to any collection.
This transfers as a modern firearm (FFL or C&R).
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