The Preacher and the Constable

Thomas “Cyclone” Johnson was a traveling evangelist who came to Carmel in December 1899. Over the next six months, he caused a stir in town with his provocative and derisive sermons. Johnson made many enemies and was arrested after he violently confronted his detractors. His trial was held on June 8, 1900, at the Jeffries Livery Stable, where a shootout resulted in his death as well as that of Constable Frank Carey, a devout Quaker and father of newborn twin sons. To this day, Carey remains the only peace officer killed in the line of duty in Carmel. After an investigation by Delaware Township Justice of the Peace Joseph M. Stipp, the official verdict was that Johnson had killed Carey, but that the preacher came to his death by some unknown hand. After more than a century, the mystery of who killed Johnson is finally solved.