Patrolman Philip Coleman Sr. was 26 and had five years on the New Orleans Police Department when he was killed on January 7, 1973. Coleman had responded to a call of an officer in distress at Duncan Plaza; as he stepped out of his patrol car a sniper’s bullet struck him and he died. The city had been terrorized that week by a lone sniper who had already killed several civilians and set fires at a downtown hotel.

That gunman, described as a member of the Black Panthers, had also killed Cadet Alfred Harrell and Sergeant Edwin Hosli in incidents days earlier, and Deputy Superintendent Louis Sirgo and Officer Paul Persigo were killed during the same seven-day period of violence. The standoff ended when police sharpshooters from a Marine helicopter engaged the barricaded suspect, killing him. Coleman was survived by his wife, son, and parents.

Does anyone have memories of Duncan Plaza in January 1973 or information about Coleman’s service and life?