Trooper Kenyon M. Lassiter, Alabama Department of Public Safety, Alabama

Trooper Kenyon M. Lassiter

Alabama Department of Public Safety, Alabama

End of Watch Friday, April 19, 1974

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Kenyon M. Lassiter

Trooper Kenyon Lassiter was struck and killed by a hit and run driver on Route 331, approximately eight miles north of Opp.

Trooper Lassiter was standing next to his patrol car writing a warning to a driver he had just stopped when another vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines, struck the vehicle that Trooper Lassiter had stopped, and then struck and killed Trooper Lassiter.

The driver fled but was later apprehended and convicted of second-degree manslaughter. He was released after serving only six months of his one year sentence.

In an odd twist of fate, several months earlier Trooper Lassiter had saved the life of the driver who killed him when he was involved in an automobile accident.

Trooper Lassiter was a U.S. Army veteran of WWII and had served with the Alabama Department of Public Safety for 18 years. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Bio

Age 51
Tour 18 years
Badge Not available
Military Veteran

Incident Details

Cause Vehicular assault
Weapon Automobile
Offender Sentenced to 1 year

hit-and-run, traffic stop

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I grew up across the street from Trooper Lassiter and his family. My father was a Trooper as well and we were all well acquainted with him and his family. I was 13 years old when he was killed and witnessed some of the Troopers who were in the area looking for his killer. I became a State Trooper in 1981, and Trooper Lassiter’s death, and how it occurred, was always on my mind while I was dealing with traffic stops.

Byron Merritt, State Trooper
Alabama State Trooper, 1981-1993

December 15, 2024