On October 26, 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona, city police attempted to question persons suspected of possessing firearms in contravention of a handgun ban. The sheriff of Cochise County intercepted the police en route and told them the suspects were unarmed and they should turn back. Police ignored the information and confronted the suspects anyway. A gunfight then ensued in which three suspects were killed and two were injured.
Did the police use excessive force?
