On July 6, 1977, Baltimore County Police Officers John W. Stem Sr. and Patrolman Charles Huckeba responded to a domestic dispute in the 2400 block of Brunswick Road. A suspect opened fire on the officers; Huckeba was struck in the face, and Officer Stem moved behind nearby houses to assist his partner. During that maneuver Stem was shot in the back by a single rifle shot and left paralyzed from the waist down. The suspect, reportedly under the influence of PCP, was later shot and killed by the department’s tactical unit during a standoff.

Stem was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day and retired from the Baltimore County Police Department in 1990. He suffered ongoing medical complications and hospitalizations related to the 1977 gunshot wound and died on October 19, 2000, at age 51; his death is described as a direct result of the injury he sustained in the line of duty 23 years earlier.