Detective Alton Fritcher

Detective Alton Fritcher

Flint Police Department, Michigan

End of Watch Sunday, January 5, 1969

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Alton Fritcher

Detective Alton Fritcher was shot and killed while responding to an armed robbery.

He and another officer were visiting a business on Davison Road when a customer of a nearby cocktail lounge ran in and told them the place was being robbed. Detective Fritcher went to the front door, and his partner went to the back door of the lounge. When the two officers entered the lounge, the suspects, two men and a woman, opened fire, striking Detective Fritcher in the back and wounding his partner in the hand. Detective Fritcher was transported to Hurley Hospital, where he died the following day.

All three suspects were captured a short time later. Before one of the male suspects, a Southern Michigan Prison escapee, 32, was captured, he ran to a nearby house and tried to break in. He shot and killed the owner of the house in front of his wife and three children. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 12, 1969. He died in prison on November 20, 2020.

The female suspect, 28, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on September 11, 1969. She died in prison on October 16, 2001. The other male suspect, 30, was also sentenced to life.

Detective Fritcher was a United States Army World War II veteran and had served with the Flint Police Department for 18 years. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and two stepdaughters.

Bio

  • Age 42
  • Tour 18 years
  • Badge 7
  • Military Veteran

Incident Details

  • Cause Gunfire
  • Incident Date Saturday, January 4, 1969
  • Weapon Rifle; M-1
  • Offender Sentenced to life

escapee, robbery

Most Recent Reflection

View all 42 Reflections

I thought of you again today, remembering again memories that make me smile. You were a talented man, building the Geodesic Dome up north. It was what you wanted, and you worked hard at it, and did it! I remember you proudly showing me the last board you put in, in the ceiling panel by the window..."Last d@^n one." Love you. Always.

Retired to Texas, Linda Robbins
Stepdaughter

January 20, 2024

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