Murder of Lauretha Vaird
| Lauretha A. Vaird | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 4, 1952 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 1996 (aged 43) Feltonville, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Ivy Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Relatives | 2 children |
| Police career | |
| Current status | Deceased |
| Department | Philadelphia Police Department |
| Badge number | 5897 |
| Country |
 United States of America
|
| Allegiance |
 State of Pennsylvania
|
| Years of service | 1986 – January 1996 |
Lauretha A. Vaird (August 4, 1952 – January 2, 1996) was a Philadelphia Police officer who was shot dead by rapper Christopher Roney "Cool C" during a botched armed bank robbery in January 1996. Roney attempted to rob the bank with fellow rapper Warren McGlone "Steady B", and another man, Mark Canty. Vaird was Philadelphia's first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty and was also the first officer to die in the year 1996.
Lauretha A. Vaird was a single mother of two boys. Before she became a police officer, she worked as a teacher's aid at Pickett Middle School in Germantown. She first joined the Philadelphia police force in 1986 at the age of thirty-four. Before her death, she was a nine-year veteran with the 25th District.
On Tuesday, January 2, 1996, around 8:20 a.m., Philadelphia rappers Christopher Roney "Cool C" and Warren McGlone "Steady B", and their accomplice, Mark Canty, attempted to rob a PNC Bank branch in Feltonville, on Rising Sun Avenue, in Northeast Philadelphia. The men had stolen a green minivan for the job which was driven by McGlone who acted as the getaway driver. Roney and Canty went into the branch before it was due to open. Canty carried a 9 millimeter automatic handgun and Roney was armed with a .380 caliber revolver. The bank had no security guards, which influenced the men to rob that particular branch. The duo held three bank employees at gunpoint and demanded access to the bank vault. Within moments of entering the bank, the silent alarm was tripped. Officer Lauretha Vaird, who was in the area at the time and riding solo in a patrol car, responded to the bank's silent alarm.
Canty forced two of the bank employees to take him to the vault while Roney stood guard by the bank entrance covering the third employee. As Vaird entered the door to the bank with her weapon drawn, she was shot in the abdomen by Roney. Vaird was wearing a bulletproof vest, but it was without its bullet-resistant panels. After he shot Vaird, Roney exited the bank through the front door. Canty fled the bank through a side entrance and left his gun at the scene. Roney then exchanged fire with another police officer, Donald Patterson, who arrived shortly after Vaird. Roney was able to escape and dropped his gun on the sidewalk outside the entrance to the bank. He got into the minivan with McGlone and the two men then fled the scene. None of the three suspects stole anything from the bank. Vaird was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where she succumbed to her gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at 9:56 a.m. and had been killed by a single shot to the abdomen.
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