On a summer afternoon in Washington, D.C., a dedicated officer’s life was cut short in a sudden act of violence. Albee Volney Forney, a 57-year-old White male, served for nine years with the United States Department of Defense - Walter Reed Army Medical Center Police. On July 24, 1991, he was tasked with what should have been a routine duty: evicting a man from a student barracks on the medical center's grounds.
At approximately 4:45 p.m., Officer Forney, accompanied by an Army nurse,
entered a room at the Delano Hall student barracks on Main Drive, NW. Their purpose was to inform a retired staff sergeant who had been staying there that he needed to leave the premises. The situation tragically escalated when the retired sergeant, described as mentally deranged, opened fire on them. Officer Forney was struck in the chest, and the nurse was wounded in the abdomen.
Other officers, hearing the gunshots, rushed to the room and swiftly took the suspect into custody. Officer Forney was immediately transported to the emergency room, but his wound proved fatal, and he succumbed to his injury an hour later. The quick response of his fellow officers prevented any further harm and led to the immediate apprehension of the shooter.
The retired staff sergeant was arrested and subsequently charged with five counts, including the murder of an officer of the United States. However, the legal proceedings took a different turn due to the suspect's mental state. In 1993, two years after the fatal shooting, the man was determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial for his actions. As a result, he was committed to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a psychiatric facility.
