Parole Officer Barry N. Sutherland

Barry N. Sutherland

Parole Officer Barry Sutherland was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a parole violator in New York City.

Officer Sutherland and two other parole officers got a tip that a parolee who had failed to appear, and had a warrant, was going to be at 16 East 42nd Street in Manhattan. The three officers waited in the lobby of the building for the suspect. When the suspect entered, he immediately recognized the parole officers and began to flee on foot. The suspect then drew a .32 caliber handgun and opened fire, killing Officer Sutherland and wounding a civilian. Because the lobby was crowded with civilians, the other parole officers did not return fire but instead tackled the suspect and placed him under arrest.

The suspect, who was on parole for criminal possession of a weapon, was later convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. On May 30th, 1978, the suspect escaped from Sing Sing State Prison. He was shot and killed on June 20th, 1978, in a shootout with a New York City police officer after a team of officers from the New York Division of Parole and the New York City Police Department tracked the suspect to an apartment in East New York, Brooklyn.

Officer Sutherland was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the New York State Division of Parole for four years. He was survived by his wife.