Alfred E. Harrell
Agency patch
Cadet

Alfred E. Harrell

New Orleans Police Department — New Orleans, LA
Felonious
End of Watch December 31, 1972
Age 19
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Gender Male

Incident

Cadet Alfred Harrell was shot and killed by a sniper at 10:55 pm while working the gate at the Central Lockup. The sniper fired a .44 caliber carbine from a field 280 feet away. Cadet Harrell was scheduled to end his shift only five minutes later. Minutes after killing Cadet Harrell, the suspect shot Sergeant Edwin Hosli, who was searching a nearby warehouse after an alarm went off. Sergeant Hosli succumbed to his wounds on March 5, 1973. On January 7, 1973, the suspect also shot and killed Deputy Superintendent Louis Sirgo, Patrolman Paul Persigo, and Patrolman Philip Coleman after setting fires and shooting at civilians in a hotel. The suspect, who was a member of the Black Panthers, was shot and killed by police, who used a Marine helicopter to fly over the hotel and fire at him. Cadet Harrell had been employed with the New Orleans Police Department for less than one year. He is survived by his wife and 9-month-old son. The Black Panther Party was a black nationalist and Marxist revolutionary political and militant organization active in the United States between 1966 and 1982. Members and former members of the group were responsible for the murders of over 20 law enforcement officers and the wounding of dozens more across the nation. Please click here to visit all the law enforcement officers who have died as a result of the Black Panther Party's violent activism.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and 9-month-old son.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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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

You barely got started.
Cadet Harrell gave the New Orleans Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the New Orleans community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Cadet Harrell.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location New Orleans, Orleans Parish, LA
Platform Identity nopd.orleans.la.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 31, 1972
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 19
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Rifle

The Sacrifice · Felonious

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

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1972, 142 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 28th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Alfred was 19. 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. Alfred had served 1 year; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

December holds 9.4% of these deaths in the United States, more than any other month. Sundays: 15.2%.

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 rifle, in 5.9% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

New Orleans Police Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, Alfred among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Cadet Alfred E. Harrell

New Orleans Police Department · End of Watch December 31, 1972

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 45-W

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