On February 14, 1985, Robbinsdale Police Officer John Thomas Scanlon, 35, was shot and killed while sitting alone in his patrol car finishing paperwork after responding to a reported burglary at France Avenue North and Lakeland Avenue. Scanlon, a Vietnam War veteran who had served with the department for 11 years, had searched the scene with another officer; no suspect was found and the other officer left before Scanlon was ambushed. The assailant returned to the scene, approached the driver’s side of the squad car and opened fire, fatally wounding Scanlon.

He was survived by his wife and their recently adopted son. A 43-year-old man was later arrested, convicted of Scanlon’s murder and given life in prison; parole was denied in 2012 and again in 2022.

Does anyone have memories of the neighborhood that night or information about the case?