Officer Jose Maceira was 33 when he was shot during a November 23, 1974, altercation in Dorchester, Boston. While on patrol with a partner the two officers approached two men trespassing on railroad tracks; a struggle followed and one of the suspects wrested Maceira’s service revolver away and fired. He was struck in the jaw and neck and suffered severe throat and vocal-cord damage that left him barely able to speak and made swallowing difficult.

Both suspects were arrested. On October 21, 1975, the shooter, then 23, was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 to 20 years; the 31-year-old accomplice was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and given 18 months. Maceira survived for nearly two and a half years but died on May 1, 1977, from complications of the gunshot wounds sustained on duty.

Did anyone in Dorchester at the time remember the incident or the officers involved who might add details about what happened that day?