Richard E. McGilvery, a 33-year-old detective with the Rutgers University Police Department, died on October 6, 1978, after an on-duty accident on the Douglass Campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey. While pursuing a reported burglary suspect on Nichol Street, his service revolver became dislodged from its holster, struck the ground and discharged. The single round pierced his liver and a lung. He was taken to Saint Peter’s Hospital but was pronounced dead later that evening.

The subsequent investigation ruled the shooting accidental. No suspects were sought and no arrests were made. McGilvery had seven years of service with the department and left behind a wife and a young son; the son later became a police officer.

Did anyone in the area that night see officers pursuing a suspect on Nichol Street or notice anything unusual on the Douglass Campus?