On a summer day in Crenshaw County, Alabama, Corporal Thomas Odean Gillilan, a 38-year-old male officer with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, was on duty. On Sunday, June 28, 1970, while patrolling U.S. 331 south, he conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for speeding. The stop would prove to be a fateful encounter for the 14-year veteran of the force.
During the stop, the man Corporal Gillilan had pulled over, a 22-year-old, managed to overpower the officer.
In the ensuing struggle, the suspect gained control of Corporal Gillilan's own service pistol. The man then used the officer's weapon against him, firing and inflicting a fatal wound. Corporal Gillilan was transported to a hospital in Montgomery for medical attention.
Despite the efforts of medical personnel, Corporal Thomas Odean Gillilan succumbed to his injuries three days later, on Wednesday, July 1, 1970. The suspect in the shooting was later apprehended by law enforcement. Following his arrest, he faced the justice system for the murder of the officer. The man was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and received a sentence of life in prison. On July 25, 1990, the convicted individual was denied parole. Corporal Gillilan, a veteran of the Korean War, was survived by his wife and two children.
