Barry Dean Melear was 29 when he was killed in Atlanta on the night of September 23, 1977. A seven-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department and a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, Officer Melear was on a special car theft detail with a partner when they interrupted three men breaking into a vehicle. While the officers were searching the suspects, the last of the three produced a handgun and shot Melear in the head; the wound was fatal. He was survived by a daughter.

If anyone has information about the three men involved that night or the events leading up to the shooting, please share what is known.