Officer Douglas E. Gibbs

Douglas E. Gibbs

Officer Douglas Gibbs was shot and fatally wounded as he was placing a man under arrest for pickpocketing near the intersection of Jones Street and Golden Gate Avenue.

Officer Gibbs was a member of the police decoy unit. After setting up an operation, the unit moved in on a suspect for an arrest. After the suspect was apprehended, he was placed on the hood of Officer Gibbs' car so he could be searched. As Officer Gibbs was conducting the search, another suspect walked up behind him and shot him twice in the back. He died from his wounds five days later.

The shooting suspect, 33, later surrendered to police. He had been paroled one year earlier after serving a short sentence for beating to death a 93-year-old man. The suspect had been in trouble with the law since he was 13 years old. His long criminal record included robbery, burglary, child molestation, assault, and murder. In 1969 he was convicted of murdering a retired sea captain and seriously wounding his wife. After a few days in prison, he was released because of a legal technicality. On June 2, 1978, he was convicted of Officer Gibb's murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Officer Gibbs had served with the San Francisco Police Department for five years. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.