Joseph M. Cournoyer was a 30-year-old sergeant with the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department when he was killed on January 29, 1985. He had served six years with the department and had been promoted to sergeant about six months before his death. He responded to a robbery at a Murry’s Steaks and searched the area; near the Minnesota Avenue Metrorail station he saw a man on a bus who matched a suspect’s description, escorted him off, and a struggle followed on the bus platform. During that struggle the suspect, identified as Sylvester R. King Jr., produced a handgun and fired one shot into Cournoyer’s chest. Cournoyer was taken to a hospital and died of the wound.

A manhunt led to three arrests. Sylvester R. King Jr. was charged with and convicted of first-degree murder; the jury deliberated less than an hour. Two others, Charles A. Blackwell and David A. Corbin, were arrested and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Does anyone have memories of the area or that night that could shed light on the events around the Minnesota Avenue station?