William Dils was a 52-year-old Erie County Sheriff’s Deputy with 19 years of service. On the afternoon of November 5, 1977, he and his partner, Detective Sgt. William Dispence, were investigating a reported burglary at a residence on Sherman Road in North Collins, New York. A 20-year-old man, Efrain Rodriguez, fled upstairs and locked himself in a bedroom; as the two officers stood outside the closed door, Rodriguez fired two shots through it. One bullet struck Deputy Dils in the abdomen; he was taken to a local hospital and died about two and a half hours later. The second shot narrowly missed Detective Dispence. Dils, a World War II veteran, had been nearing retirement at year’s end. A massive manhunt involving over 300 officers focused on the North Collins area; Rodriguez ultimately surrendered to an assistant district attorney and another deputy at a home near the scene, turning over his shotgun. Rodriguez was arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder and held without bail.

Does anyone have additional information about the investigation or memories of the community response to Deputy Dils’s death?