Killing of Walter Toliver in Texas in 1945

Incident

Case summary

Walter Toliver (1909 - 1945), a laborer, died in police custody at the city jail in Houston, Texas. When, four days after his arrest, his wife came to bring him clean clothes, she was told he had passed away. His death certificate stated the cause of death to be coronary occlusion. However, Toliver’s wife, Eleanor, stated in a letter to the NAACP that she suspected that he was killed at the hands of police at the jail.

Victim(s):

Walter Toliver


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals: [ ]
Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1945-06-02
Location: Houston, Harris County, Texas
Location type: carceral location
Allegation against victim: engaging in a workplace dispute

Coroner process
Coroner/inquest: [ ]
Finding of no legal responsibility: [ ]

Criminal process
Arrest: [ ]
Charge/indictment/information: [ ]
Grand jury: [ ]
Trial: [ ]
Conviction: [ ]
Sentence: [ ]


Document(s):
advocacy group resources
census records - closed
military documents - closed
news articles - closed
Data Fields
To learn more about data fields, refer to the data dictionary.
Cite this Page
Refer to how to cite.