On April 7, 1979, Patrolman William Caisse, 32, was killed during a shootout on Interstate 57 two miles south of Paxton, Illinois. Caisse had been dispatched to assist Illinois State Trooper Michael McCarter, who was attempting to stop four speeding vehicles. One of the suspects fled to an overpass and opened fire on the officers; Caisse was shot in the back by a suspect who retrieved a rifle from his pickup truck. Trooper McCarter and a civilian riding with him were mortally wounded, and another Paxton officer was wounded in the leg and chest before returning fire and killing the assailant.

The four suspects were brothers connected to an auto parts theft ring from Detroit and were reportedly traveling to Mississippi for a grandmother’s funeral. One suspect was found wounded the next day, convicted of first-degree murder, and after multiple sentence appeals was re-sentenced to life without parole, a decision the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed in 1993. Caisse had served three years with the Paxton Police Department, was a Vietnam War veteran, and left a wife, a son, two daughters, his parents, four brothers, and a sister.

Does anyone have memories of Patrolman Caisse or information about the case that could add to the record?