On the afternoon of January 30, 2004, Officer Nicholas Kevin Sloan, 24, was killed during an undercover narcotics operation in St. Louis’s Weed and Seed zone near North Taylor Avenue and Enright Avenue. Sloan and his partner, Officer Gabriel Keithley, were working in plainclothes when they approached a man they believed was engaged in a drug transaction in a liquor store parking lot. A violent struggle followed after the suspect fiercely resisted detention.

Hawthorn, disarmed Officer Sloan and fired the stolen service weapon. A fatal shot entered Sloan’s chest above his protective vest, passed through his shoulder and pierced his heart. Hawthorn then shot Officer Keithley twice. Keithley was able to return fire and struck Hawthorn, who died at the scene. Because the assailant was dead, there were no arrests or trials related to Sloan’s killing.

Does anyone have information about Sloan’s service, the incident, or remembered details from that day that could add context?