Police Officer Edward Emile Fritz, Jr.

Edward Emile Fritz, Jr.

Police Officer Edward Fritz was shot and killed after stopping a vehicle on NW 119th Street, near 20th Avenue, that was fleeing a robbery.

He was unaware that the occupants were wanted for a series of robberies in the area and was shot as he approached the vehicle. The three suspects were apprehended. Two of them were convicted and executed for the murder in 1956.

Officer Fritz was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII. He had served with the Dade County Road Patrol for two years and had previously served with the Norfolk Police Department in Virginia for 18 months. He was survived by his wife and parents.