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Chief Investigator Bert Donaldson | Fulton County Office of the Solicitor General, Georgia
Fulton County Office of the Solicitor General, Georgia

Chief Investigator

Bert Donaldson

Fulton County Office of the Solicitor General, Georgia

End of Watch: Thursday, July 29, 1926

Biographical Info

Age: 54
Tour of Duty: 4 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 29, 1926
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Not available

Chief Investigator Bert Donaldson was shot and killed from ambush after being lured into a hotel room while conducting an investigation into organized crime.

As he entered the hotel room with one of the subjects of the investigation, he was shot twice by a second suspect that was hiding in a closet with a shotgun. The two suspects then locked the hotel room door and fled. Chief Investigator Donaldson's body was found by hotel staff the following morning.

In 1927, a former police officer confessed to being involved in Chief Investigator Donaldson's killing, and nine other suspects were arrested and charged with murder. Only one suspect was convicted of Chief Investigator Donaldson's murder and sentenced to death. A year later he received a new trial and was acquitted. Charges against the others were dismissed.

Chief Investigator Donaldson had served in law enforcement for more than 4 years. He was survived by his wife and is buried in Casey's Hill Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.