Leslie Coffelt

Who was Leslie Coffelt?

Leslie William "Les" Coffelt was an officer of the White House Police Force, who was killed while defending U.S. President Harry S. Truman against an armed attack on November 1, 1950 at Blair House, where the president was living during renovations at the White House.

Coffelt was wounded during the assassination attempt, which two Puerto Rican nationalists carried out. Though mortally wounded by three bullets, Coffelt returned fire moments later and killed one of the attackers with a single shot to the head. The other was convicted by a federal jury and sentenced to death; Truman commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.

Acknowledging the importance of the question of Puerto Rican independence, Truman allowed a plebiscite in Puerto Rico in 1952 to determine the status of its relationship to the U.S. The people voted to continue as a Free Associated State, as established in 1950.