On the night of December 19, 2007, 25-year-old Smithsburg Police Officer Christopher Shane Nicholson was killed while responding to assist the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with a reported domestic disturbance. Nicholson, the only Smithsburg officer on duty, had parked his patrol car and was awaiting backup when the suspect, Douglas Wayne Pryor, drove toward him and opened fire. A rifled slug struck Nicholson in the chest in an area not covered by his vest. He was able to return fire and empty his weapon into the suspect’s vehicle as it fled, but was found near his cruiser and later died at a local hospital.

A multiagency search, including a helicopter, located Pryor about a mile and a half away in his pickup. When confronted, he fired on officers and was wounded in an exchange with a Special Response Team before being taken into custody. Pryor was charged in the killings of Officer Nicholson and his ex-girlfriend Alison Munson, and later pleaded guilty and received multiple life sentences. If anyone knew Officer Nicholson or witnessed the scene that night, please share what you remember.