On the night of December 13, 1994, 28-year-old Grand Haven Department of Public Safety officer Scott Anthony Flahive was killed while on patrol. Officer Flahive, a four-year veteran, stopped a vehicle near Beacon Boulevard and Park Avenue because its lights were off. The car contained two recent escapees from the Ottawa County Jail plus two women who had helped the escape.

As Officer Flahive approached the vehicle, a shot was fired from the backseat by one of the escapees, who was armed with a rifle. Flahive was struck and later died at North Ottawa Community Hospital. The escaped inmates and the two female accomplices were arrested; the shooter, Keith Harbin, was convicted and given multiple life sentences, while the other escapee and the accomplices received 10- and 15-year sentences for their roles.