On a tragic Friday, November 23, 1973, Memphis Police Department Patrolman Edward John Hammond, Jr., a male officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty. The incident unfolded on North McNeil Street, just north of Chelsea Avenue, after he and his partner responded to a disturbing report of a man threatening people with a shotgun in front of a local grocery store.
Upon their arrival, the officers found the suspect still armed.
They ordered the man to drop his weapon, but the command was met with violence. The suspect fired his shotgun, striking Patrolman Hammond in the face. The wound proved to be fatal, and he died at the scene. He had served with the Memphis Police Department for 13 months.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Patrolman Hammond's partner, Officer Bill Bandy, returned fire, killing the suspect. Because the suspect was killed at the scene, there were no subsequent arrests or trials in connection with Patrolman Hammond's death. He was survived by his fiancée, parents, and siblings.
