Police Officer Alfred Baird

Alfred Baird

Police Officer Alfred Baird was shot and killed while on foot patrol on Eagle Street in downtown Asheville.

A man walked up and shot him and another man he was talking to without provocation. Officer Baird was killed instantly. The suspect was apprehended a short time later. The man Officer Baird was talking to died from his wounds two weeks later.

The suspect was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to two terms of 12.5 years to life in prison. He died in prison on January 6th, 1980.

Officer Baird was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War and had served with the Asheville Police Department for eight years. He was survived by his wife and four children.