Police Officer Harold Hamilton

Harold Hamilton

Police Officer Harold Hamilton was shot and killed after responding to a bank robbery call at the Wells Fargo Bank at Seventh Avenue and Clement Street.

When Officer Hamilton and his partner arrived, they attempted to enter the bank, and Officer Hamilton was shot and killed. Officer Hamilton's partner was able to return fire, wounding the suspect.

At the officer's funeral, members of the Black Liberation Army planted a time bomb outside the church. The bomb exploded but did not injure any mourners.

The suspect was released after 17 years in prison but later died of the gunshot wounds suffered in the incident.

Officer Hamilton had been a member of the San Francisco Police Department for six years. Survivors include his wife and four children.

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.