Kevin Simmons was a 22-year-old Black patrolman with the Spencer Police Department and a U.S. Army veteran. On the night of December 9, 1982, during a routine traffic stop in Spencer, he encountered two men who had just burglarized a nearby drugstore. A violent struggle followed when the men tried to disarm him. One of the suspects, later identified as Scott L. Moore, was shot in the stomach during the struggle. The other, Tollie Earl Melvin, gained control of Officer Simmons’ service weapon and fatally shot him in the head. The assailants fled; Moore was arrested after seeking hospital treatment in Chickasha and Melvin was also taken into custody. Both men had prior burglary and related offenses. Melvin was tried, convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison; Moore testified against him at trial.

Did anyone in Spencer at the time remember details about the traffic stop or the suspects that might shed more light on what happened?