A 'terror to evil doers': The true story of Arthur Briggs, a beloved but nearly forgotten Minnesota policeman

DULUTH — As one of the most experienced officers on the police force, Lt. Arthur Briggs was regarded as a “terror to evil doers” in West Duluth.

Weighing nearly 300 pounds, the Irish-born policeman was a fixture on the Central Avenue beat — apprehending murderers and burglars in the city’s rough-and-tumble early days, but also earning a reputation as a gentle giant who served as a role model and leader in the community.

"He is known personally by almost every man, woman and child within his jurisdiction,” the News Tribune reported in 1901, “and his splendid record in preserving peace, suppressing crime and capturing criminals has earned for him praise in abundance.”

So widely respected was the lawman that his death from heart failure during a struggle with a drunken man in 1908 led to a