The Boston Police Department (BPD) is remembering Detective Sherman Griffiths. He was killed on duty 36 years ago. On February 18, 1988, Griffiths was shot while serving a search warrant with the Drug Control Unit. The operation targeted illegal drugs at 104 Bellevue Street in Dorchester. Griffiths was shot while trying to enter a third-floor apartment.
Griffiths was 36 years old when he died. He had been with the department for eight years. He left behind a wife and two daughters. His funeral was attended by over 4500 law enforcement officers. They came to St. Agatha’s Church in Milton to pay their respects. Griffiths was buried at the Milton Cemetery.
After Griffiths’ death, five of his brothers joined the BPD. His name is on the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C., on Panel 15, East Line 9. His name is also on the BPD’s Hero Wall at Boston Police Headquarters. It’s also on the Massachusetts State Law Enforcement Memorial at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. In Boston, a Hero Sign is at the corner of Moraine Street and South Huntington Ave in Jamaica Plain.