Patrolman Ralph Keesee Ghivizzani, a male officer with the Phoebus Police Department, was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant at a residence on Chamberlin Avenue. He had been with the department for two years. The situation began to unfold when the son of the suspect went to the police station to warn them that his father was waiting at home with the intention of killing his mother upon her return.
The man was also awaiting trial for spousal rape.
In response to this urgent information, Patrolman Ghivizzani, accompanied by an officer from the Elizabeth City County Police Department and a military police officer from Fort Monroe, proceeded to the home to arrest the man on a warrant for the theft of a firearm. As Patrolman Ghivizzani informed the subject of the warrant, the man suddenly produced a. 38 caliber handgun from under a table and shot the officer in the head, killing him instantly.
Following the initial shooting, the man wounded the military policeman and a Phoebus firefighter before barricading himself inside the house. A standoff ensued for several hours. The incident concluded when the suspect took his own life. Patrolman Ghivizzani was survived by his wife, mother, and three brothers.
