Charleston County Police Department, South Carolina
End of Watch: Friday, November 15, 1974
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: November 15, 1974
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Never identified
Patrolman Willliam Cribb was shot and killed when he and another officer interrupted an armed robbery in a supermarket while off duty.
Patrolman Cribb and a colleague, both off duty, had gone to a local grocery store, Sam's Red and White, on James Island to get charcoal for a cook-out that evening at Patrolman Cribb's home.
After getting the charcoal and approaching the front of the store they saw a perpetrator with a gun forcing a store employee to open a safe in an office cubicle near the front of the store. Patrolman Cribb was armed, his colleague was not. Patrolman Cribb pulled his weapon and approached the perpetrator from the rear and ordered him to freeze. Unbeknownst to both officers, the perpetrator had two accomplices, one outside the store standing watch, and one in the store, standing a short distance from the office cubicle and behind Patrolman Cribb. That accomplice shot Patrolman Cribb from behind. After Patrolman Cribb fell to the floor, the perpetrator near the safe fired another bullet into Patrolman Cribb.
As the perpetrators were running from the store with the stolen money, Patrolman Cribb's colleague retrieved his gun and fired several shots at them, missing all of them.
Patrolman Cribb was pronounced dead a short time later at a local hospital.
The three suspects escaped with five thousand dollars and remain at large.
Patrolman Cribb was survived by his pregnant wife and young daughter.