Officer Thomas J. Giunta, 49, was killed on August 24, 1994 while performing a community assignment in Fall River, Massachusetts. He had been distributing complimentary parking permits for the city’s Holy Ghost Feast and was going door to door on Middle Street when one homeowner answered and became hostile. A struggle followed; the assailant wrested Officer Giunta’s service weapon and fired three shots, fatally wounding him.

Other officers nearby heard the gunfire, arrived quickly, and the suspect was subdued at the scene. A civilian performed CPR and Giunta was taken to a hospital, but he died of his injuries. The man was arrested, later found competent to stand trial, and on May 29, 1998 a jury convicted him of first-degree murder by extreme atrocity and sentenced him to life without parole.