Arthur Snyder

Arthur P. Snyder, a 29-year-old White officer with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., was a respected and dedicated member of the force. Having served for four and a half years, he was known by colleagues as a "damned good policeman" who was fair, impartial, and aggressive in his work. He was part of a special eight-man squad assigned to the Third District to combat the city's heroin traffic. An enthusiastic outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting for deer and small game in his off-duty hours, Officer Snyder was married to his wife, Stella, and was survived by her, his parents, and a sister.

On the evening of February 11, 1980, Officer Snyder and his partner, Constant Pickett, were conducting surveillance as part of their special anti-drug detail. The area around 14th and U Streets NW was a well-known open-air market for narcotics. Shortly before 7 p.m., from a concealed position, the two officers observed a man who appeared to conduct several drug sales. They devised a plan to arrest the suspect, deciding to approach him from opposite directions to prevent his escape.

As the officers moved in, the plan went awry. Officer Snyder reached the suspect first and was alone when the man suddenly pulled a pistol and opened fire. The first bullet struck Snyder's bulletproof vest, knocking him to the ground. The gunman then stood over him and fired again, striking him in the head. He was also shot in the lower abdomen, below his vest. As his partner, Officer Pickett, ran to the scene, the suspect fired at him before fleeing. Pickett returned fire and chased the assailant until he disappeared. A Howard University student who was nearby rushed to the fallen officer and administered CPR on the freezing pavement until rescue personnel arrived. Snyder was airlifted by a Park Police helicopter to the Washington Hospital Center, where he was placed on life support but succumbed to his injuries the following day, February 12, 1980.

The shooting triggered a massive and intense manhunt for the suspect, who was quickly identified by multiple eyewitnesses as 27-year-old Bruce Wazon Griffith. Known on the street as "Red," Griffith was already on the city's "10 Most Wanted" list for failing to appear in court on a prior heroin possession charge. For three days, more than 100 embittered officers, many volunteering on their days off, scoured the city in a series of raids. Police fraternal organizations and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration offered a combined $5,000 in rewards for information leading to his arrest.

The search came to a dramatic end on February 14. Griffith had called a taxi to flee the city, but the cab driver recognized him and alerted police. Officers converged on the taxi on a quiet residential street near Howard University. As police tried to stop the cab, Griffith began firing from the back seat through the rear window. The officers returned fire. Griffith was struck by six bullets as he tried to run from the taxi while still shooting. He was pronounced dead at a hospital 50 minutes later.

The case was considered closed with the death of the primary suspect, Bruce Wazon Griffith. A grand jury later reviewed the actions of the officers involved in the shootout and determined the killing of Griffith was a "justifiable homicide," bringing no charges against them. Police officials stated that the handgun found on Griffith's body was the same model used to kill Officer Snyder, though ballistics tests on the recovered bullets were inconclusive as they were too mutilated for a positive match. Officer Arthur Snyder was the first D.C. police officer to be killed in the line of duty in two years, and his death was mourned throughout the department, with officers wearing black tape across their badges in his honor. More than 1,000 officers attended his funeral.