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Officer

James Richard Greene

Atlanta Police Department — Atlanta, GA

Felonious Veteran

End of Watch November 3, 1971

Age 27

Tour of Duty 4 yrs 3 mo

Badge 1774

The Vigil Panel 109 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 87

Incident

Officer Jim Greene, working a one-man unit, was assassinated while on patrol at Chester Avenue and Memorial Drive SE. Officer Greene was taking a break, seated in his police van at a closed gas station, when the incident occurred. The suspects, two Black Liberation Army members, approached the unsuspecting officer. While one asked him a question, the other shot him numerous times. They then stole the officer's service weapon and his badge to prove the deed to other members of the group. One of the suspects was shot and killed in front of a grocery store by officers from the New York City Police Department and the FBI on November 14, 1973. The other suspect assumed another identity and blended back into society. He avoided arrest for over twenty years. In 2001, while living in New York City with his live-in girlfriend, he was accused of molesting her daughter and arrested. The Atlanta Police Department was notified of his arrest after his true identity was discovered. Atlanta's cold case detectives obtained enough evidence to charge him in connection with Officer Greene's murder on July 12, 2002. He was convicted of murder on October 13, 2003, and was sentenced to life in prison. Officer Greene was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Atlanta Police Department for over four years. He was survived by his father, four sisters, a brother, and a fiancée. The Black Liberation Army was a violent, radical group that attempted to fight for independence from the United States government in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The BLA was responsible for the murders of more than 10 police officers and the wounding of many more law enforcement officers. Please click here to visit all the law enforcement officers who have died as a result of the Black Liberation Army's violent activism.

Survivors

He was survived by his father, four sisters, a brother, and a fiancée.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-GA-56E840B9
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Greene gave the Atlanta Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Atlanta community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Atlanta Police Department

Location Atlanta, GA

Platform Identity apd.fulton.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 3, 1971

Tour of Duty 4 yrs 3 mo

Age 27

Badge Number 1774

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun; .38 caliber

Offender One killed; other sentenced to life

Military Service

James Richard Greene served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Officer James Richard Greene is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In GA, 548 of 903 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Atlanta Police Department, 58 of 88 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 65.9% of this agency's fallen.

Atlanta Police Department

of 88 officers

65.9% Felonious

GA — Statewide

548

of 903 officers

60.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious