Patrolman Luke John Fitzpatrick

Luke John Fitzpatrick

Patrolman Luke J. Fitzpatrick was shot and mortally wounded by a man wanted for blowing a safe at a grocery store in Hammond, Indiana.

Officer Fitzpatrick was approached by a train conductor at 63rd Street and Madison Avenue (present day Dorchester Avenue) who identified the suspect who was with another man in the elevated train station. As Officer Fitzpatrick approached the men the suspect drew a weapon and shot him four times. Another officer who heard the shots ran to the seen and shot the suspect in the back as he tried to escape. Patrolman Fitzpatrick died three hours later.

The suspect had served time in five different prisons for several robberies, thefts, burglaries, and safe cracking. He was convicted of Patrolman Fitzpatrick's murder and sentenced to life in prison on May 2, 1907.

On January 4, 1947, the suspect was released from prison. The judge who ordered his release stated that his constitutional right to have a speedy trial had been violated because more than four terms of court passed before he was tried for Patrolman Fitzpatrick's murder.

Patrolman Fitzpatrick was survived by his parents and siblings.