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Giles Arthur Harmon
Agency patch
Trooper

Giles Arthur Harmon

North Carolina Highway Patrol — Raleigh, NC
Felonious
United States flag North Carolina flag
End of Watch April 9, 1985
Age 26
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Badge G-444
The Vigil Panel 129 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 68

Incident

Trooper Giles Harmon was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Haywood County. Troopers were conducting heightened traffic enforcement in the area due to recent rock slides. The suspect had kidnapped his employer from Kentucky earlier in the day and had the victim in the vehicle when Trooper Harmon stopped him. Two passing truck drivers who witnessed Trooper Harmon's murder tried to run the suspect off the road, but he swerved and escaped. A responding Trooper tried to revive Trooper Harmon but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect abandoned his vehicle and released his abducted employer nearby at Harmon's Den exit. The next day, officers found the employer alive, and he was treated at a local hospital for a bullet wound. The suspect was located after a 3-day manhunt involving over 1000 state, local, and federal officers from North Carolina and Tennessee when he was spotted by a North Carolina Highway Patrol helicopter on the banks of the Pigeon River just 2 miles from the Tennessee state line. He was arrested by North Carolina Troopers and Waynesville Police. An investigation revealed that the suspect left Kentucky with his abducted employer to locate and murder his ex-wife in North Carolina. The 25-year-old suspect was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on October 16, 1985. As of June 10, 2023, he remains in prison. The North Carolina General Assembly passed a resolution commending Trooper Harmon the day after his murder. Trooper Harmon was assigned to Trooper G, District 4, in Buncombe County. He had been a member of the North Carolina Highway Patrol for five years and had previously served as a Brevard, North Carolina, police officer. He is survived by his wife, who was a Buncombe County sheriff's deputy, and his parents. A section of Highway 276 in Brevard was renamed in his honor.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, who was a Buncombe County sheriff's deputy, and his parents.

In Our Keeping

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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper Harmon gave the North Carolina Highway Patrol 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of North Carolina. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Harmon.

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

Agency

Department North Carolina Highway Patrol
Type Highway Patrol
Location Raleigh, NC
Platform Identity nchp.nc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 9, 1985
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 26
Badge Number G-444
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Giles is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1985, 99 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 52nd heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Giles was 26. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Giles had served 5 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

April holds 8.4% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Tuesdays: 13.4%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

North Carolina Highway Patrol has 69 officers remembered here, Giles among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Trooper Giles Arthur Harmon

North Carolina Highway Patrol · End of Watch April 9, 1985

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 56-W

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