North Wilkesboro Police Department, North Carolina
End of Watch Thursday, June 1, 1933
Add to My HeroesJames Rayburn Grayson
Officer James Grayson was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious person.
At approximately 8:55 p.m. on the night of May 31, 1933, Night Officer John Walker (who would later become the chief of police) and Night Officer Grayson were on duty and received a call that two men had brandished a pistol at Beeches Place on 10th Street (present location of Key City Grill). The officers responded, locating only one of the suspects.
Officer Walker followed the suspect down 10th Street toward Main Street, and Officer Grayson went up the alley between 10th and 9th streets, behind what was then Dick's Service Station, and then turned right and went toward Main Street.
When Officer Grayson reached Main Street, he located the suspect in front of the Deposit and Savings Bank (now SunTrust Bank). When Officer Grayson took hold of the suspect’s arm, five shots were fired. Officer Grayson was struck twice, once in the arm and once in the abdomen. The suspect fled on foot through an alley. Officer Grayson walked a few steps toward Officer Walker, who was near the Boone Trail marker at the corner of 10th and Main Street, telling him he had been shot.
Officer Grayson was taken by automobile to the Wilkes Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. the next morning.
The suspect was arrested a short time later at C.O. Bumgarner’s store on Boone Trail at the top of Cotton Mill Hill by Deputy Sheriff Silas Reynolds. After a search of the area where the shooting had taken place, the murder weapon, a .32 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol, was found and taken in as evidence. The suspect was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 30 years.
Officer Grayson was single and had served with the agency for 2 years.
In June, 2012 the West D Street (Business 421) bridge over the Reddies River was dedicated to the memory of Officer Grayson.
Bio
- Age 22
- Tour 2 years
- Badge Not available
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Weapon Gun; Unknown type
- Offender Sentenced to 30 years
Most Recent Reflection
View all 6 ReflectionsRest in peace Officer Grayson.
Rabbi Lewis S. Davis
May 30, 2019
Recent LODD Deaths
Investigator Brian Herbert
Osage Nation Police Department, TR
EOW: April 17, 2024
Deputy Sheriff Fred Fislar
Hendricks County Sheriff's Office, IN
EOW: April 16, 2024
Police Officer Michael E. Jensen
Syracuse Police Department, NY
EOW: April 14, 2024
Lieutenant Michael Hoosock
Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, NY
EOW: April 14, 2024
Sergeant William Marty Jackson, II
Winchester Police Department, KY
EOW: April 14, 2024
Police Officer Ross Bartlett
Ceresco Police Department, NE
EOW: April 12, 2024
Chief of Police Steven Allen Singer
Lake Lafayette Police Department, MO
EOW: April 8, 2024
Correctional Sergeant Andrew John Faught
Illinois Department of Corrections, IL
EOW: April 8, 2024
Police Officer Joseph McKinney
Memphis Police Department, TN
EOW: April 12, 2024