Lieutenant William Louis Skinner

William Louis Skinner

Lieutenant William Skinner was shot and killed during a standoff with a group of militants who were barricaded in a house at 1148 Lewis Street around 6:30 a.m.

Lieutenant Skinner was standing beneath a tree when he was struck in the head by a single round that had been fired from underneath the house. Another Jackson Police Department officer and a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent were also wounded during the shootout.

Lieutenant Skinner passed away at the Baptist Hospital the next day.

Eleven suspects were arrested and charged with Lieutenant Skinner's murder. Only a few of the suspects were convicted and sentenced to very short sentences.

Lieutenant Skinner was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Jackson Police Department for 11 years. He was survived by three sons, all of whom became law enforcement officers.

The Black Liberation Army was a violent, radical group that attempted to fight for independence from the United States government in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The BLA was responsible for the murders of more than 10 police officers and the wounding of many more law enforcement officers.  

Please click here to visit all the law enforcement officers who have died as a result of the Black Liberation Army's violent activism.