Flint Police Department, Michigan
End of Watch Sunday, January 5, 1969
Add to My HeroesAlton 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
Most Recent Reflection
View all 40 ReflectionsAnother year gone. And you are still on my mind. I wish I had taken more time to be around you, to learn from you.
I remember you and Wes playing guitars in the back yard while burgers were cooking. We were singing Marty Robbins' songs like El Paso. I loved it, it was such a good time.
You were taken cruelly, so fast. I appreciate you now more than ever. Everything you said that last day has meaning. It's sad, I wish I had told you then. Thank you, I love you.
January 9, 2020
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