Officer James Richard Greene

James Richard Greene

Officer Jim Greene, working a one-man unit, was assassinated while on patrol at Chester Avenue and Memorial Drive SE.

Officer Greene was taking a break and was seated in his police van at a closed gas station when the incident occurred. The suspects, two Black Liberation Army members, approached the unsuspecting officer. While one asked him a question, the other shot him numerous times. They then stole the officer's service weapon and his badge to prove the deed to other members of the group.

One of the suspects was shot and killed in front of a grocery store by officers from the New York City Police Department and the FBI on Nov. 14, 1973.

The other suspect assumed another identity and blended back into society. He was able to avoid arrest for over twenty years. In 2001, while living in New York City with his live-in girlfriend, he was accused of molesting her daughter and arrested. The Atlanta Police Department was notified of his arrest after his true identity was discovered.

Atlanta's cold case detectives obtained enough evidence to charge him in connection with Officer Greene's murder on July 12, 2002. He was convicted of murder on October 13, 2003, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Officer Greene was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Atlanta Police Department for over four years. He was survived by his father, four sisters, a brother, and a fiancée.

The Black Liberation Army was a violent, radical group that attempted to fight for independence from the United States government in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The BLA was responsible for the murders of more than 10 police officers around the country. They were also responsible for violent attacks around the country that left many police officers wounded.