Trooper Giles Arthur Harmon, aged 26, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Haywood County, North Carolina, on April 9, 1985. Harmon was a member of the North Carolina Highway Patrol and had been serving for five years. He had previously served as a police officer in Brevard, North Carolina. On the day of his death, Harmon was conducting heightened traffic enforcement in the area due to recent rock slides.
The suspect, a 25-year-old man, had kidnapped his employer from Kentucky
earlier that day and had the victim in the vehicle when Trooper Harmon stopped him. Two passing truck drivers witnessed the murder and attempted to run the suspect off the road, but he managed to escape. A responding trooper tried to revive Harmon, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect abandoned his vehicle and released his abducted employer nearby.
A massive manhunt involving over 1,000 state, local, and federal officers from North Carolina and Tennessee ensued. The suspect was located three days later by a North Carolina Highway Patrol helicopter on the banks of the Pigeon River, just two miles from the Tennessee state line. He was arrested by North Carolina Troopers and Waynesville Police. An investigation revealed that the suspect had left Kentucky with his abducted employer to locate and murder his ex-wife in North Carolina.
The suspect was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on October 16, 1985. As of June 10, 2023, he remains in prison. The North Carolina General Assembly passed a resolution commending Trooper Harmon the day after his murder. A section of Highway 276 in Brevard was renamed in his honor. Trooper Harmon is survived by his wife, who was a Buncombe County sheriff's deputy, and his parents.
Trooper Harmon's death was a tragic event that highlighted the dangers faced by law enforcement officers in the line of duty. His sacrifice is remembered and honored by those who knew him and by the community he served.
