Half a century later, the memory of Elton Hayes still echoes today
Fifty years ago in October, an Orange Mound teenager, Elton Hayes, was beaten to death by law enforcement officers at the end of a car chase. He’s buried in Galilee Memorial Gardens. His mother, who died in 2005, is buried next to him. (Bill Dries/Daily Memphian)
“It seems to me like it was a set up, the way that they did it,” Calvin McKissack said of the trial of eight Memphis Police officers and Sheriff’s deputies where he and George Barnes testified. All eight were acquitted in the beatings of McKissack and Barnes and the death of Elton Hayes. (Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)
The ditch along Stepherson Road at Lamar Avenue where a group of law enforcement officers beat Elton Hayes to death in October 1971. The area was roped off as a crime scene in the investigation that followed. (Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)
A Memphis Police officer on patrol during the violence that followed the funeral of Elton Hayes in October 1971. The smoke is from a nearby fire inside a business with a fire truck nearby. (Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)
Park Avenue in Orange Mound was one of the flash points for the scattered violence that followed the beating death of Elton Hayes in October of 1971. (Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)
George Barnes is shown during the trial of eight law enforcement officers charged with beating him and Calvin McKissack and killing Elton Hayes. (Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)
In October 1971, three Orange Mound teenagers went for a ride that ended with law enforcement officers beating one of them to death in a ditch off Lamar Avenue. Fifty years later, no one has been convicted in the killing.
Topics
Elton Hayes Calvin McKissack Memphis Police Department police brutality Orange Mound Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Bill Dries on demand
Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Bill Dries' stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
Public Safety on demand
Sign up to receive Public Safety stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.