Curtis John Ramsdell was a 45-year-old Columbia Heights police officer with 14 years on the force who was killed on July 30, 1977. He and his partner had arrested a driver for driving under the influence and the driver’s 21-year-old passenger for disorderly conduct. While transporting the passenger to the jail, Ramsdell was removing the man from the patrol car when the suspect produced a concealed .25 caliber handgun from his back pocket and shot Officer Ramsdell in the stomach. A jailer who ran to help was also shot and wounded.

The suspect was quickly taken into custody. The community mourned Ramsdell, who left a wife and two children. The accused later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and on December 21, 1977 was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Does anyone from Columbia Heights at the time remember those events or have information about Officer Ramsdell and his family?