In the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, on the cold afternoon of February 5, 1994, the life of 37-year-old Berisford Wayne Anderson, a Black/African American male, was tragically cut short. Anderson, a 14-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, had just finished his shift and returned to his home on Spencer Street. Having changed out of his uniform and into civilian clothes, forgoing his ballistic vest, his day was supposed to be winding down.
However, duty and instinct intervened when he witnessed a car speeding the wrong way down the one-way street outside his house.
The driver of the vehicle was 18-year-old Dalton Simpson, who was driving erratically through the residential area in a stolen vehicle after having already been involved in a hit-and-run incident just a block away. Unbeknownst to Officer Anderson, Simpson also had outstanding warrants for his arrest. When Anderson pulled his own vehicle out of his driveway to confront the reckless driver, a fatal sequence of events was set in motion. After a brief exchange of words, Simpson produced a handgun and shot Officer Anderson in the chest at point-blank range.
Despite being grievously wounded, Anderson managed to retrieve his own. 38 caliber handgun and return fire as Simpson attempted to flee. The two exchanged more shots before Simpson got back into his car, backed up the street, and sped away. Officer Anderson collapsed, having sustained a single, fatal gunshot wound to his chest.
The suspect's escape was short-lived. A Boston Police officer who was returning from the funeral of another police chief happened to be nearby. This officer spotted Simpson, and after a brief foot chase, apprehended him. Dalton Simpson was subsequently charged with the murder of Officer Berisford Wayne Anderson. In March of 1995, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. Officer Anderson, a husband and father of five, was remembered as a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice even when off-duty.
