In the spring of 1977, a dedicated officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, Bruce W. Wilson, lost his life in the line of duty. The 27-year-old man had been with the department for five years and was working as a vice officer in the Seventh District, often engaging in the dangerous work of undercover narcotics operations. He was married and had one child.
On the afternoon of April 25, 1977, Officer Wilson and his partner were in the 200 block of Elmira Street, SW, conducting an undercover drug buy. They successfully purchased a single pill of a narcotic and proceeded to arrest the dealer. As his partner secured the individual in their vehicle, Officer Wilson went to the rear of a nearby home to search for any additional hidden drugs. It was there, while he was looking through a trash can, that he was ambushed. He was shot once in the back of the head with a small-caliber handgun.
Critically wounded, Officer Wilson was rushed to Greater Southeast Community Hospital. Despite undergoing surgery, his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead the following day, on April 26, 1977. Law enforcement officials at the time considered him to be one of the top narcotics officers on the force.
Within hours of the shooting, police made an arrest in the case. The suspect was identified as Avon C. Alexander, a 59-year-old man with a known history of involvement in narcotics. Alexander was charged with murder. He was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder for the shooting death of Officer Wilson and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. The motive for the killing was believed to be connected to the narcotics arrest that Officer Wilson had just made.
