Bio & Incident Details
Age: 63
Tour: 40 years
Badge # 802
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 3/7/2013
Weapon: Shotgun
Suspect: Charged with capital murder
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Master Trooper J.A. Walker was shot and killed after stopping for what he believed to be a disabled vehicle on southbound I-85, near mile marker 45, in Dinwiddie County at approximately 1:30 pm.
At some point during the encounter, a subject exited the vehicle and opened fire on Trooper Walker as he sat in his patrol car. He was able to return fire and call for assistance, but his patrol car then lunged forward and ran off the right side of the road coming to rest in the woods approximately 30 feet from the interstate. A passing motorist called 911 to report a trooper in distress. The first two state troopers responded within two minutes of the radio call and one observed the subject standing outside Master Trooper Walker's patrol car with a weapon. The responding trooper and the subject exchanged gunfire before the subject fled on foot into the woods. At approximately 1:58 p.m., deputies with the Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Office took the subject into custody without further incident. The subject was discovered hiding at a local business approximately a half mile away from the shooting scene.
Meanwhile, the heat from the engine of Master Trooper Walker's vehicle sparked the brush under his vehicle to catch fire. The two responding troopers were able to pull Master Trooper Walker from his burning vehicle. However, he had been shot multiple times and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The subject was charged with capital murder of a police officer, attempted capital murder of a police officer, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Trooper Walker had served with the Virginia State Police for 40 years, and had been assigned to Dinwiddie County for 27 years. He was scheduled to retire one month after his murder. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.
