On July 3, 1943, Officer Clifton Tillman and his partner, Officer William Turner, responded to a complaint of an armed individual threatening to kill another individual in a cafeteria near the intersection of 25th Avenue and 28th Street in Gulfport.  As Officer Tillman approached in his vehicle, the suspect fired a gunshot through the windshield striking Officer Tillman in the chest.  Officer Tillman died forty-five minutes later at a local hospital.  The suspect was also killed during the incident.  Officer Tillman was forty-three years old and was survived by his wife.