Private William Patrick Conboy, Jr.
(EOW 12/29/73)

An undercover drug operation at the Silver Spring Holiday Inn on December 29, 1973, resulted in a shoot-out, leaving one officer dead and his partner wounded. Officer William Conboy and his partner, Sergeant James Elkins, had a prearranged meeting with two drug dealers in the hotel’s lobby and, after the customary pat-downs, proceeded to a room on the 10th floor. Backup officers were stationed nearby as the four men entered room 1022; but instead of the intended purchase of cocaine taking place, one of the dealers produced a handgun. Shots were fired and Conboy staggered from the room, shot in the chest. Entering the room, the backup squad found one of the suspects wielding a handgun and standing over Sergeant Elkins. Shots were exchanged and the suspect fell to the floor mortally wounded. Sergeant Elkins had been shot in the back and arm, but survived. Officer Conboy, however, died at Holy Cross Hospital an hour later. The 25-year-old Conboy had been an undercover officer for three years.