Officer Bryan A. Reese, age 30, and his partner, headed to Central Avenue and Kay Street about 5:00 p.m. to back up Officer J. F. Thomas and his partner on a gambling raid. During the raid, Officer Thomas was grabbing a suspect when the officer's gun fired and hit Reese in the chest, killing him instantly.
Officer Bryan A. Reese was a native of Edwardsville, Alabama and came to Tampa in 1926. He joined the Tampa Police Department on October 04, 1926, and had completed nearly nine years of service. Officer Reese was married and had one daughter,Emily Joan Reese. His son, Mr. Bryan Reese Jr., was born just after his death.
An inquest was held by Justice of the Peace Hernandez, who ruled the shooting an unfortunate accident.
Officer Reese was the first Tampa officer to meet death after the passage of a 1935 Legislature of a police pension law, carrying benefits for disability and death. Under this new 1935 law, the widow of a policeman killed in the line of duty received $100 a month for life or until she remarries; each child received $15 a month for the first 12 months.
Officer Bryan A. Reese was laid to rest in Orange Hill Cemetery.