Chief of Police Gregory Blaise Adams

Gregory Blaise Adams

Chief of Police Gregory Adams was shot and killed while making a traffic stop in the parking lot of the Agway Feed Store.

Chief Adams was on Water Street when the suspect sped past a stop sign. Chief Adams pursued the man and caught up with him as he attempted to turn around in a supermarket parking lot.

Chief Adams used his patrol car to block the exit of the parking lot and approached the driver's side door. When asked to provide his driver's license, the man gave Chief Adams a fake ID and then shot him twice in the chest. The man then got out of the car, and the chief returned fire, but the shots were not fatal.

The suspect used Chief Adams' gun to pistol whip him and fled the scene. Chief Adam's weapon was found seven miles away in Winfield, Pennsylvania, and the suspect's car was found in Warwick, Rhode Island. He was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in 1981 but was removed from the list in March 2007. In July 2017, the man's body was found buried in his ex-wife's backyard. Investigators believe he died in approximately 1999.

Chief Adams was not wearing a bulletproof vest at the time because he had lent his to another officer. It is believed that the suspect was en route to rob a jewelry store when Chief Adams stopped him.

Chief Adams was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He had served with the Saxonburg Borough Police Department for seven years and had served in law enforcement for nine years. He had previously served with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. He was survived by his wife and two sons.

He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Herman, Pennsylvania.