On the evening of May 4, 1981, 42-year-old Jan Brinkers, an off-duty lieutenant with the New York City Housing Authority Police Department, was shot and killed inside a tavern on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx during a robbery. Three men entered and announced a holdup; Brinkers identified himself as a police officer, drew his weapon and confronted them. One of the suspects shot Brinkers in the chest. He returned fire, firing six times and wounding one of the suspects in the leg, but was mortally wounded and later died at a nearby hospital.

The three suspects were identified as Cuban refugees who had arrived during the Mariel Boatlift. A tip led to the arrest of two suspects, aged 28 and 36, eleven days after the shooting; the 27-year-old identified as the shooter was captured two weeks later after seeking treatment for a leg wound. All three were charged with murder and later convicted. Brinkers, a United States Army Reserve veteran, had served with the Housing Authority police for 15 years and was survived by his wife.

Did anyone who knew Lieutenant Brinkers or who was in that tavern that night come forward with additional details?