Reading Police Department, Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Saturday, September 2, 1972
Age: 24
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 9, 1972
Weapon Used: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect Info: Committed suicide
Patrolman Olin Wait succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained two months earlier while providing security at a local event.
Patrolman Wait and two other officers were guarding the grounds of the Reading Air Show when a off duty officer opened fire on him without warning for unknown reasons. The suspect then opened fire on another officer before fatally shooting himself in the chest.
The off duty officer was attending the air show with his wife and child when he opened fire.
Patrolman Wait was a U.S Army veteran and had served with the Reading Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and son.