On August 18, 2005, Richard W. Smith Jr., a 46-year-old Albuquerque police officer with 22 years’ service, was killed while on duty. He and his partner, Officer Michael R. King, had been dispatched to assist in taking a man into custody for a mental health evaluation near Ash Street SE and Gold Avenue SE. They were met with gunfire on arrival; Officer King died at the scene and Officer Smith was critically wounded and later died at the University of New Mexico Hospital.

The suspect, a 48-year-old man, fled on a motorcycle and was found roughly two hours later after crashing while officers attempted to apprehend him. Investigators linked the suspect to two other murders earlier that evening at a local motorcycle shop and to the murder of a New Mexico Department of Transportation worker that morning. The suspect was charged with five counts of murder.

Officer Smith was survived by his wife and daughter. Does anyone have memories of Officer Smith or information about the events that evening that could shed more light on the case?