MacKechnie
PORT JERVIS – It was on March 18, 1949 that Port Jervis Patrolman John MacKechnie was killed by a mentally unstable man in City Hall. The man had been taken into custody earlier in the evening after officers received reports that he was acting strangely.
MacKechnie, 38, was left alone in a basement room used as an evidence locker and interview room. The suspect grabbed a shotgun being stored as evidence and attacked the officer, knocking him unconscious and strangling him with his uniform necktie.
After killing the patrolman, the man ran upstairs and yelled that he killed the devil. He was charged with murder and committed to a state hospital.
Officer MacKechnie had served on the Port Jervis police force for eight years.
