Sergeant Gerald Vick was shot and killed at approximately 2:20 am while conducting an undercover vice investigation.

The officer and his partner were working on a prostitution case in several east side bars when they encountered two men near a bar at 7th and Forest Streets. The two men were talking with bar patrons, possibly in an attempt to set up a robbery.

He and his partner spoke with the men and told them to move along. The officers then separated and went to their respective cars. When Sergeant Vick encountered the men near his car, they exchanged a few words before both men fled into an a darkened alley. Both officers pursued the suspects into the alley. One of the subjects pulled out a handgun and opened fire, fatally wounding Sergeant Vick.

Both subjects were apprehended later in the day and the man who shot Sergeant Vick was charged with first degree murder. He was subsequently convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2006.

Sergeant Vick had served with the St. Paul Police Department for 16 years and was the agency’s only three-time Medal of Valor recipient. He is survived by his wife, two children, parents, brother, and two sisters.