Metro Nashville Police Department, Tennessee
End of Watch: Wednesday, July 26, 1978
Age: 30
Tour of Duty: 6 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 26, 1978
Weapon Used: Handgun; .357 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Officer Steven Pinkelton was shot and killed when the restaurant he was in was robbed. He was off duty but in uniform waiting in line when an armed robber entered, grabbed him from behind, and shot him in the back of the head.
The 29-year-suspect was arrested on February 18, 1983, at the state penitentiary in Nashville. He had served three years of a 13-year sentence for the robbery of two restaurants in the same area of the restaurant where Officer Pinkelton was killed. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. He had a parole hearing in September of 2022 and was denied.
Officer Pinkelton was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Metro Nashville Police Department for six years.