In the autumn of 1930, the life of Patrolman George Pettit Thomas, a 35-year-old male officer with the Roanoke City Police Department, was cut tragically short. On the evening of November 9th, while on his patrol, Thomas encountered an intoxicated man on Norfolk Avenue. In what began as a seemingly routine interaction, he instructed the man to go home. The situation escalated dramatically when the man, instead of complying, produced a. 45 caliber handgun and shot Patrolman Thomas in the abdomen, critically wounding him.
For eleven days, Thomas fought for his life in the hospital. His condition showed signs of improvement, and there was a period where he was in good spirits with his pain seemingly subsiding. However, on November 20, 1930, he succumbed to the gunshot wounds he had sustained. His death marked a somber day for the Roanoke community and its police force, which he had served for two years.
The man who shot Patrolman Thomas was apprehended three days after the shooting, found hiding in a vacant building not far from the scene of the crime. He was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to serve several years in prison for his actions. The convicted individual ultimately died from tuberculosis on October 28, 1946, while incarcerated at the state prison farm in Goochland County, Virginia. Patrolman Thomas was survived by his wife.
