Thomas Raymond Hayes was 30 and a Columbus Division of Police officer when he was shot on December 18, 1979, while attempting to arrest two teenagers at a convenience store for a curfew violation. One of them, Ronald L. McClary, drew a handgun and shot Hayes in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. McClary was later convicted of felonious assault and carrying a concealed weapon and served nearly 24 years before his release in December 2004.

Despite paralysis and repeated health problems, Hayes worked as a civilian sketch artist for the Columbus Division of Police from 1986 to 1997. He continued to suffer infections and worsening health over the ensuing decades and died on January 20, 2011, in Columbus. The Franklin County Coroner ruled his death a homicide linked to the 1979 shooting, and the death was recorded as in the line of duty, making his family eligible for federal benefits.