William Capers was a 51-year-old veteran detective with 19 years on the force who was killed on April 3, 1972, while working plainclothes with a partner in Jamaica, Queens. They had stopped three men in a parking lot on 164th Street after finding an illegal handgun in one vehicle. When one suspect fled on foot, Detective Capers chased him into a store vestibule and fired a warning shot into the air.

A uniformed traffic officer nearby heard the gunfire, ran to the scene, and — seeing a man in plainclothes holding a suspect at gunpoint — mistakenly identified Detective Capers as the offender and fired one fatal shot that killed him. Investigators later determined the death was the result of an accidental shooting by a fellow officer; no arrests were made and the officer who fired was not charged. Capers was posthumously awarded the New York City Police Department’s Medal of Honor.

Are there people who remember the incident or knew Detective Capers and can add details about that day or his service?