On a summer day in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 30-year-old Police Officer Linda A. Lawrence was responding to a residential burglary call at the Broadmoor Plantation Apartments. It was August 1, 1977, and Officer Lawrence, a United States Army Reserve veteran, had only been with the Baton Rouge Police Department for four months. She was the first known female officer to be killed in the line of duty in the state.
Upon arrival at the apartment of the suspect's former girlfriend, Officer
Lawrence and her training officer encountered the suspect in the bedroom. A violent struggle ensued, with the suspect attacking the officers with a knife and a tire tool. In the chaos, the assailant managed to gain control of Officer Lawrence's service revolver and shot her once in the chest.
Despite being gravely wounded, the struggle continued. Officer Lawrence's training officer fought with the suspect for several more minutes before he was able to fatally shoot him. The suspect was shot a total of ten times before the assault ended. Officer Lawrence was survived by her parents.
