On the evening of August 5, 1981, Lieutenant Ronald D. Oliver, 43, a 20-year veteran of the Memphis Police Department, was killed while responding to a silent alarm at a Wendy’s on North Thomas Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Officers found a man inside the restaurant who had taken employees hostage and was robbing the place. As Oliver encountered the suspect exiting the building, the suspect ran; Oliver and another officer chased and tackled him. During the struggle the suspect drew a .45-caliber handgun and opened fire. Lieutenant Oliver was fatally wounded and the other officer was injured.

The gunman, identified in reports as Philip Workman, was arrested about an hour later and charged with Oliver’s murder. The case went to trial in 1982, and Workman was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Years of appeals followed, with some questions raised about the shooting.

Did anyone in Memphis at the time see activity around the Wendy’s on North Thomas Street that evening or have information about the incident?