Chicago Police Department, Illinois
End of Watch: Wednesday, May 24, 1967
Age: 28
Tour of Duty: 8 years
Badge Number: 10965
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 24, 1967
Weapon Used: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect Info: Arrested
Patrolman Herman Stallworth died after being shot during a traffic stop. His partner was wounded in the incident.
He and his partner stopped a vehicle at Cottage Grove Avenue and Marquette Road for speeding. There were two occupants and neither had identification. As his partner radioed in the license number, he questioned the occupants. The driver opened fire, striking Patrolman Stallworth in the chest. Before the second officer could exit the squad car, he was also shot but able to radio for help.
Twenty units responded to the call for assistance and the passenger was captured as he mingled with the crowd that had gathered around Officer Stallworth as he lay wounded in the street. The driver barricaded himself in an apartment in the 6400 block of South Maryland. He fired at police through the door but surrendered when he ran out of ammunition. Patrolman Stallworth was transported to Billings Hospital where he died during surgery.
Patrolman Stallworth's 24-year-old killer, a former basketball star at Iowa State University, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In 1974, after the U.S. Supreme Court did away with the death penalty, his sentence was commuted to 100 to 300 years. As of September 1, 2020, he was still in prison. He has been denied parole more than 30 times.
Patrolman Stallworth was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Chicago Police Department for eight years. He received two honorable mentions and three department citations during his career. He is survived by his wife and four children.