On May 22nd, 1975, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Randal K. Richter was responding to a suspicious vehicle call when he suffered critical injuries from getting shot.

After arriving at the scene, he had called in the car’s license number before exiting his cruiser and approaching it from the curbside. He had just reached the passenger door when, without any warning, the man inside fired a handgun through the closed window and hit Deputy Richter in the face. The man then drove off, threw the gun into a nearby river, and abandoned the car nearby. Following a manhunt, he was apprehended nearly two weeks later.

Randal died of his injuries soon afterwards. The 28-year-old shooter—who at the time was on parole for robbery—was sentenced to life and later died in prison.

Deputy Richter was 23 years old at the time of his death, and had served with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for 18 months. He was survived by his two sisters.

Before joining the force Randal had served with the Miami, Florida Police Department and graduated from Sinclair Community College with a law enforcement degree. He was highly respected for being conscientious about carrying out his duties and always volunteering for special projects. He had chosen police work because he wanted to help people, and was widely known for being outgoing, easy to get along with, and good-natured. He loved the outdoors and was an avid fisherman.