[1] His life as a lawman was documented in the book Sheriff Harvey Whitehill; Silver City Stalwart, by author Robert Alexander.
During this period, both Tucker and he were involved in numerous shootouts with outlaws and trouble-making miners, in addition to conducting several legal hangings following court convictions.
Whitehill would later state Bonney was an extremely likeable young man, and that his acts of theft were more due to necessity than him being a criminal, since his mother had recently died at the time.
In 1882, a year after being credited with killing Billy the Kid, lawman Pat Garrett ran against Whitehill for the office of sheriff.
Believing this, Cleavland denied he had killed the engineer, and made a full confession, detailing the robbery and his fellow robbers.
Receiving information from a citizen of the escapees' direction of travel, Whitehill set up to capture them at a pass near the Pinos Altos Mountains.
Joy was able to make a break, shooting and killing posse member Joe Le Fur, while being wounded himself, hence escaping.
Whitehill would serve a total of six terms as sheriff of Grant County, marrying his wife Harriet, and fathering twelve children.
Although lesser known than many other lawmen of the Old West, Whitehill is credited by many historians as having been more effective in that role than many who would ultimately become better known, to include his former political rival, Pat Garrett.