The Murder of Police, Our Careers in Baltimore

Summary

Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories

Episode: The Murder of Police, Our Careers in Baltimore
Host: John "Jay" Wiley
Guest: Gary McElhinney, Retired Baltimore Police Detective & Chief, Author
Date: February 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the realities of policing in one of America’s most violent cities—Baltimore—through the lens of host John "Jay" Wiley and guest Gary McElhinney. Both are retired from the Baltimore Police Department and share personal stories, the trauma of losing fellow officers, notably the murder of Officer Vincent Adolfo, and the unyielding violence faced on the streets. The discussion also touches on broader issues in law enforcement, the ongoing struggles of victims’ families, coping with trauma, and the preservation of officers’ legacies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Careers in the Baltimore Police Department

• East Side vs. West Side Experiences

  • Both Wiley (west side) and McElhinney (east side) served in different parts of Baltimore, noting distinct "career paths" based on these divisions.
  • "In Baltimore City, there’s a clear dividing line...you either start on the east side, you end on the east side, you start on the west side, you end on the west side." (McElhinney, 02:09)

• Cadet Program Experiences (1980s)

  • McElhinney joined as a cadet at age 19, doing clerical work before entering the academy.
  • Both recount humorous memories of being forced to take the stairs at headquarters and run-ins with legendary characters in the department, bringing levity to an otherwise difficult job.

2. Violence in Baltimore: Then and Now

• Historical Context of Violence

  • Homicides in the 1980s often exceeded 300 annually, even as population numbers have dwindled.
  • Drug problems (heroin, later crack cocaine) fueled waves of violent crime.
  • "From 1980 to last year, 2021, 11,500 plus people were murdered in Baltimore...We didn’t have that many people killed in the Afghanistan war in 20 years." (Wiley, 06:24)

• Changing Landscape

  • Violence, once concentrated in Western/Eastern Districts, now permeates all areas—even those previously considered "safe" or "country club" districts.
  • Increase in random victimizations and crime in public spaces like Inner Harbor.

3. Murder of Officer Vincent Adolfo – A Personal and Departmental Trauma

• The Incident

  • Officer Vincent Adolfo, age 25, was fatally shot on November 18, 1985, while performing a routine "meal run."
  • Spotting a stolen car, Adolfo called for backup and executed a textbook car stop. The suspect, Flint Gregory Hunt, fled, leading to a foot chase, and during the arrest maneuver, shot Adolfo point-blank.

• Immediate Aftermath and Hunt

  • The department and community responded swiftly; identification and a manhunt followed soon after.
  • Hunt fled to Philadelphia and then toward California, ultimately recognized from a flyer at a bus station and apprehended in Oklahoma due to determined, old-school police work.
  • "A woman traveling on a bus out of New York actually recognized him from a flyer...She recognized them and called the police. Was apprehended in Oklahoma." (McElhinney, 33:09)

• Justice and Its Complications

  • Hunt was the second-to-last person executed in Maryland (July 2, 1997). The years leading up to his execution exemplified how victims’ families are often sidelined in the criminal justice process.
  • “I really saw firsthand how the system treats the victims... The victims are not only the people that the crime is perpetrated against, but...their family, their loved ones who simply want to see justice.” (McElhinney, 33:20)

4. Personal Connections and Survivor Trauma

• Ongoing Guilt and Fear of Forgetting

  • Wiley speaks openly about the guilt and emotional complexity survivors feel, especially when “what-ifs” resurface.
  • “Their number one fear is that their loved one...would be forgotten, that no one would tell their stories.” (Wiley, 38:15)

• Relationship with Surviving Families

  • McElhinney’s close relationship with Adolfo’s widow, Karen, led him to devote significant portions of his book to Vince’s story and to accompany her as a witness during Hunt’s execution.

• Support from the Law Enforcement Community

  • Discussion of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and support organizations—vital for both officers facing accusations and families of fallen officers.

5. Legacy and Remembrance

• The Book: "Bleeding Blue: Four Decades Policing the Violent City of Baltimore"

  • Aimed to preserve the memory of fallen officers and provide support for survivors.
  • Proceeds benefit organizations: Signal 13 Foundation (assisting Baltimore officers in need) and Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS).
  • “[Writing] a book is hard and it puts you out there. I devote a section...with photographs of every officer that was killed during my career, whether it was in the Baltimore Police Department or as chief of police.” (McElhinney, 40:51)

• Never Forget

  • Both affirm the importance—and difficulty—of remembrance.
  • “We say never forget. And we don’t. We don’t.” (McElhinney, 39:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Nature of Violence:

  • "Baltimore has always been a major, major city when it comes to violence...Baltimore was the heroin capital of the east coast for much of the late 60s, 70s, going into the 80s..." (McElhinney, 05:19)

• On the Psychological Toll:

  • "I don’t talk about my story because it’s not just my story...those are the same last names me. So I don’t talk about it. The show really is about my guests." (Wiley, 13:27)

• On Officer Adolfo’s Dedication:

  • "He was doing...what we all did and really loved to do...chasing bad guys was what we love to do. And, you know, that’s what Vince did that night." (McElhinney, 14:38)

• On Old-School Police Work:

  • "They didn’t have the modern tools that they have now...no DNA, this had to be good old fashioned police work...these guys were good old school." (McElhinney, 29:22)

• On Survivor’s Guilt:

  • "I always felt guilty that if I had done something different—I know logically this doesn’t make sense—Vincent [would] still be alive." (Wiley, 35:24)

• On Remembrance:

  • "Never forget. And we don’t. We don’t." (McElhinney, 39:54)
  • "[Memories] come up and they’re uninvited, they’re not welcome, but they’re still there." (Wiley, 40:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 - Introduction to Gary McElhinney & careers in Baltimore PD
• 05:19 - Historical context of violence in Baltimore
• 11:18 - Focus on the murder of Baltimore officers; FOP role
• 14:38 - Recollections of Officer Vincent Adolfo’s career and murder
• 21:51 - Detailed retelling of Adolfo’s killing
• 32:17 - Manhunt for Flint Gregory Hunt and old-fashioned policing
• 33:20 - Justice process, victim’s family struggles, and Hunt’s execution
• 36:25 - Coping with trauma and connection with Adolfo’s widow, Karen
• 38:58 - Support organizations for survivors
• 40:10 - About the book and ways to support
• 41:31 - Contact Gary McElhinney; publisher and co-author info

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Resources & Further Information

• Gary McElhinney’s Book:
  Bleeding Blue: Four Decades Policing the Violent City of Baltimore
  Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers. Proceeds benefit Signal 13 Foundation and Concerns of Police Survivors.

• Contact Gary McElhinney:
  garymcelhinneyconsulting.com

• Recommended Organizations:

  • Signal 13 Foundation
  • Concerns of Police Survivors

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This episode stands as a moving, unfiltered testimony of the pain and pride, camaraderie and trauma, that mark a career in policing Baltimore’s streets—and a heartfelt call to remember and honor those lost in the line of duty.

Transcript

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[John J. Wiley]

He was a police officer in one of America's most violent cities. We're going to talk about the murder of a police officer that we both had connections to his career and much more. Welcome to the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. In the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show we are joined by special guests talking about their experiences, their realities, investigating crimes, plus those who have experienced horrendous trauma. Police, first responders, military and victims of crime share their stories. Hi, I'm John J. Wiley. In addition to being a broadcaster, I'm also a retired police sergeant. Be sure to check out our website letradio.com and also like us on Facebook, search for the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. Of all the radio stations in the United States, there are no other shows like the law Enforcement Talk Radio show and on Facebook there's only one official page. Do a search on Facebook for the law enforcement Talk Radio show and be sure to like the law Enforcement Talk Radio show Facebook page. Calling us from the Baltimore area, we have retired Baltimore Police Detective Gary McElhinney, also retired Chief police of Maryland Transportation Authority, author, co author of the book Bleeding Blue four Decades Policing the Violent City of Baltimore with co author Kevin Coward. Gary, thanks so much for being a guest on the law enforcement show. Very much appreciated.

[Gary McElhinney]

Thanks for the opportunity.

[John J. Wiley]

It's a pleasure to be with you. Number one, I gotta say this, Gary and I, our careers overlapped. We both worked in the Baltimore Police Department. I believe you were east side cop and I was west side so we really didn't know each other.

[Gary McElhinney]

Right. In Baltimore City there's a clear dividing line not only when it comes to crime and perpetrators, but kind of cops career path if you will. You either start on the east side, you end on the east side, you start on the west side, you end on the west side. But yeah, I spent my career on the street in the northeast district.

[John J. Wiley]

And what years were you there?

[Gary McElhinney]

I joined as a, as a Cadet as a 19 year old in 1980 and was assigned to planning and research, doing cadet stuff, which is, you know, filing papers mostly. And then I was. My first assignment was the northeast district.

[John J. Wiley]

And a lot of people realize is cadets, they do a lot of clerical work, and then they go in the academy just like everybody else. Got to go through the whole process just like everyone else. And it's a way of extending your career. You can start earlier, but from 19 to 21, you weren't policing, you were a clerk.

[Gary McElhinney]

Exactly. I went into the academy just before I turned 21, which as long as you turned 21, while you were in the academy, you were good to go. But I learned a lot about the department working in headquarters. I actually worked on the eighth floor of our old headquarters building, which you'll know was where the police commissioner and the command staff was. So you hated getting called there.

[John J. Wiley]

If you got called by dispatcher report to 8th floor of the headquarters building. It was never good.

[Gary McElhinney]

No. You usually probably went with your badge in your hand and your gun unloading.

[John J. Wiley]

I never got that call. I got the call to IA many times, Internal affairs, but I never got the call to go to the eighth floor. Never happened.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I always tell a funny story. As cadets, we weren't allowed to use the elevators. We had to walk the steps.

[John J. Wiley]

Right.

[Gary McElhinney]

And if you ever tried to sneak on the elevator variable, you'd run into our old police commissioner, Donald Pomelo, or one of the command staff members who would give you a sideways look and you hit the next button and got off.

[John J. Wiley]

When we were in the academy, if my memory serves correct, it was a long time ago. I went in 1980 when I was in the academy, we had to take the stairs. We weren't allowed to take the elevator. And when you did take the elevator, you know what would happen? This is for the benefit of people who don't know. There was a character, and when I say character, we had so many great characters in Baltimore Police Department named Jules Nevicker. Jules was famous for pranking people. And his ID photo that he had on wear inside the building would often times have photos of someone else. And I got in the elevator one time, he had a photo. I'd since graduate academy. He had a photo of the commissioner on. And guess who was standing next to him. This guy was.

[Gary McElhinney]

It had to be the commissioner.

[John J. Wiley]

It was. He was priceless. So, you know, there's a lot of levity. Those are things that I miss. You know what I don't miss, Gary, is. And people ask me all the time, and I don't normally entertain the question, how violent is Baltimore? And they act like it's a recent thing. In the 1980s, it was no joke. As a matter of fact, it might even be more violent than it is today.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, no, I agree. I think, you know, when you look back at the 80s and even earlier, when you look back at history of department, you know, police officers murdered sitting in their cars by members of the Black Panther Party that occurred in Baltimore and Green Mount Avenue. And the murders were well over 300 in the 80s, which is kind of the artificial benchmark, if you will, that people tag on Baltimore when it comes to whether it's violent or not. But I think the difference now is Baltimore city's population might be, you know, 40, 50% of what it was back then. So sheer per capita numbers is what people focus on. But Baltimore has always been a major, major city when it comes to violence. And, you know, we led the country in heroin. Baltimore was the heroin capital of the east coast for much of the late 60s, 70s, going into the 80s, and then of course took off when crack cocaine became the drug of choice on our streets.

[John J. Wiley]

Many changes. Well, I think when I started in Baltimore, there's about 880,000 people. In the 60s or 70s, there was a million plus in Baltimore City. And now last time I checked, I think there's about 660,000 and they're like 500 police short. So one of the things that people really need to understand, and I'm just using numbers from Wikipedia and I'm going from the top of my head because I don't have in front of me, from 1980 to last year, 2021, 11,500 plus people were murdered in Baltimore. 11,000. And people act like that's just an everyday occurrence. They don't get up in ours. Can you imagine? We didn't have that many people killed, I believe in the Afghanistan war in 20 years.

[Gary McElhinney]

Correct, correct. Or in our war, a total war and terror.

[John J. Wiley]

It is mind boggling. And so again, how violent is Baltimore? That's a question I don't like to answer. That's a question I don't entertain very often. I'm sure you got this too. I was involved in four shootings in a little more than 10 years. The first two, I never fired back. They were never like they're portrayed in the media. The news media in particular portrays them as a certain way that we're all trigger happy. That's not the case. But shootings, and while they were everyday occurrence in northwest district of Baltimore, And Western murders weren't. Murders were quite frequent, but shootings were daily.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, Baltimore, in terms of how violent it is right now, is extremely violent because, you know, the majority of the homicides in Baltimore used to be attributed to the west, to the Western or the Eastern District. Two very small districts within the police department's nine district structure. But now it's spread now northeast. Two years ago, Northeast had one of the largest increases in homicides and shootings. And as you know, we used to call Northeast a country club. Right. It had two golf courses in the district.

[John J. Wiley]

And that's where you went to retire. That's where cops went to retire.

[Gary McElhinney]

You took your. Nothing bad happened, right. You had your putter in the back of the trunk, you know, for those slow nights. But that's. That's not the case now. And we've seen a lot of what you and I would call innocence, right? So robbery's gone bad. People shot on the street, people shot in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Homicides occurring at the harbor, the crown jewel of Baltimore, which used to be protected with everything they had. You know, we've had a couple of those recently. And it's never literally out of control.

[John J. Wiley]

We've got crime with squeegee kids. We've got crime and people just. And I hate to say this negatively, and it sounds negative when I say it, for many, many years, Baltimore had a huge drug problem and no one seemed to care until it entered the suburbs, until it entered the counties and the more affluent neighborhoods. And that violence goes with it. It's part of the game. And we return to our conversation with Gary McElhenney. We're going to talk about more of his career. We're going to talk about homicides of police officers and one in particular that we both have a connection to, his book and so much more. This is a law enforcement show. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back.

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[John J. Wiley]

We're turning our conversation with Gary McElhinney on the Law Enforcement Show. Gary is retired Baltimore Police Detective. He is also retired Maryland Transportation Authority Police Chief. He's co authored the book Bleeding Blue four Decades Policing the Violent City of Baltimore with co author Kevin Cowherd. In that book, it's a collection of stories from your experience, but it's also really focusing on the murder of many Baltimore police isn't.

[Gary McElhinney]

Is I. You know, for 10 of my years in the Baltimore Police Department, I was president of the police union, the Fraternal Order and that was a full time job for me. And I got to know many of our survivors of officers who were killed and work with them on projects that were near and dear to them and us. So yeah, I focus a lot of attention on the book onto those heroes who were killed during my career.

[John J. Wiley]

I got to say this, I've been a member of the Baltimore FOP since 1980. I'm still, even though I've been retired 30 plus years, I'm still a member dues paying member. And their main reason why is the legal defense of officers. They saved my life when I did nothing wrong. And they do that for many, many others. This great organization and they get unfair press all the time. News media, they make them sound like we use the term police union. You just said that it's not really a union. We're not allowed to do a lot of things that a lot of unions can, but it's the only thing we have.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, you know, I'm a die hard FOP supporter and I'm still on their board of directors. And I did have the privilege of working for eight years at the law firm that represented police officers. They were the best later in my career and the work they do to save those who are unjustly accused for a variety of reasons Political or otherwise, is it's been consistent. I think that firm has probably been representing police officers in Baltimore for well over 45 years.

[John J. Wiley]

They've done a great job. And I don't talk about my story because it's not just my story. It's my ex wife's story, it's my daughter's story, it's my current wife, my mom, my sisters. Those are the same last names me. So I don't talk about it. The show really is about my guests. And I want to go back to. We know each other. We know of each other. We never worked together. That I can recall might have been maybe what they call mass raised meeting projects where they gathered up. Other than that, I don't think I ever really stumbled across Gary. But we knew of each other and we knew that he had a great reputation. And when I heard about your book Bleeding Blue Four Decades Policing and Violent City of Baltimore, I reached out to you, by the way, co author is Kevin Cowherd, who's a phenomenal journalist in the Baltimore area. And I reached out to you and said, look, we got to talk. What's this about? And you said it was about the murders of many Baltimore police. And you started mentioning some, and there's one, there's many that really impacted me tremendously. But as one of a young officer named Vincent Adolfo, that really, to this day, still bothers me very deeply.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, it bothers all of us. And, you know, we came on around the same time, so we were, you know, you and I were. We were in our careers as Vince was in his career. Right. And I know I was in patrol. Vince was a patrol guy. We were both young. It really hit home to me, you know, newly married and Vince was doing the night he was murdered, was doing what we all did and really loved to do. I mean, you know, people talk about getting the police work for service and other things, but, you know, chasing bad guys was what we love to do. And, you know, that's what Vince did that night. The details of that night show what kind of police officer Vince was. And it was reflective of, you know, the thousands of other officers in patrol that were just, you know, out there day in, day out doing their job.

[John J. Wiley]

Yeah, they were. They're grinding out calls for service and looking for bad guys in their post. And we had a real post mentality. Look, I didn't want other cops having to handle my post meant they had to disregard theirs. I didn't want other cops from other sectors coming to our sector to do it. Or other districts. So we would stack calls. But we always had the mentality and our sergeants drilled into this. Look, make sure your post is clean. Get. Get the bad guys off the street, Know who they are. And long story short, I had a run in, I guess is a little more than a year before. And a very quick explanation story. I was getting out of my patrol car. I walked into a known drug retail establishment. And a guy opened the door for me, who I'd arrested many times before. And he said to me, that guy walking down the street's got a gun in his shopping bag. And he scrubbed the guy and saw him. And I walked after him and called for backup. My backup officer came up, we grabbed the guy. Long story short, when this plastic bag hit the hood of our patrol car, back then it was AMC Concords. That's how long ago it was.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yes, they were.

[John J. Wiley]

It was a heavy metallic sound and we knew right away what that was. And he reached for it and we grabbed him, secured him, and turned out to be a.357 Magnum. And his name was Flint Gregory Hunt. And he was. He was. If my memory is correct, he was convicted. He had other things he was convicted for. He was supposed to be in prison. He wasn't.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, Flint Gregory Hunt was. You know, it's an understatement. He was really a bad guy. He was known on the streets of Baltimore as being extremely violent. Not wrapped real tight when it comes to people's ability to influence him, to get him to do things. Plus, he did it on his own. He was a street guy and he was out there for no good and no amount. If he was going to be on the street, he was going to be committing crimes. And quite frankly, his history, when he was incarcerated, he was committing crimes inside as well.

[John J. Wiley]

Yeah, as a matter of fact, the guy who tipped me off about him said he's here to hit somebody. Which was slang back then for murder. He was there looking for someone to shoot. And he had a beef with someone on the west side and he came all the way over and I believe he even took the bus. It was not uncommon for extremely violent criminals to take mass transit.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, I mean, and it was unusual because he did have a reputation and a history of being on both sides of town. Yeah, he was an east side guy. It was where he laid his head a lot. But he was known to be in the Western District. And quite frankly, he was a hitman because he's got other bodies on him as well besides Vinces.

[John J. Wiley]

We'll Talk about that in a moment. You said something. Cath is like going back in history and it's not necessarily all pleasant. Some of it's very emotionally upsetting. I worked narcotics for many years out of the Northwest district and there was details at dea and I remember on a drug raid in the southern end of Northwest district and it was a multi level building with a fire escape in the back and somehow the meanest guy got this far escape and it was between me, I was between him and the exit. And he was a known hitter and he had about seven so called at that time, seven bodies under his belt. And when you've got to go up against someone like that, I'm going to tell you right now, just my experience, professionalism, courtesy, nice language, all that stuff goes out the window and it can quite often become a battle of life and death. And that's what happened.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, absolutely. You know, you got you. You know, hopefully training kicks in when you go up against a guy like that. But it's a street fight.

[John J. Wiley]

It's a street fight, it's ugly. No one likes street fights, even cops. And we had a saying, it's like making sausage. No one wants to see it made in public. This is law enforcement. We're turning our conversation with Gary McElhinney in just a few moments. There's so much more to talk about. Don't go anywhere, we'll be right back. You know, we used to have an app and it was very popular app and then guess what? We couldn't hold a candle through our Facebook presence. How many people have the mobile Facebook app already installed on their phone? How many people use it on their computer? Make sure you follow us, make sure you like us on our Facebook page. Just search for law enforcement, talk radio show and podcast and be sure to send us a comment to one of the posts. Best of all, it's 100% free.

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[John J. Wiley]

Return conversation with Gary McElhinney on the Law Enforcement Show. Gary is retired Baltimore police detective. He's our brother, served the same time as me. Our career has overlapped. He's also retired Maryland Transportation Authority Chief of police. The agency protected Port of Baltimore, bwi, Marshall Airport, state bridges, tunnels and toll roads. Co author of the book Bleeding Four Decades Policing the Violent City of Baltimore with co author Kevin Cowherd. Now, this book is a lot about all the officers that were murdered and their stories of what happened and a little bit of backstories about their family. The one we're talking about in particular, because there's a connection, is the murder of police officer Vincent Adolfo. I explained my part before. Can you tell us what happened, what transpired?

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah. On the night of November 18, 1985, Vince was doing what a lot of us who were new to, relatively new to law enforcement and in patrol. He was doing the meal run for the Eastern District. And the meal run is there's prisoners. There's a cell block at the Eastern District where Vince was assigned. His job was to pick up the meals, you know, and deliver them to the cell box. Meals were all. All made off site. And he was returning, actually from the city jail where they prepared the meals for the Eastern. And Vince was returning to the district from the meal run. Saw a car. Back then, we didn't have computers in our cars. We had what was called the hot sheet, and it was a sheet of paper that listed a lot of stolen cars on it. Vince had it pinned to the. To his dashboard like most of us did with a thumbtack. And, you know, he real. He noticed that the car was stolen, called it in to confirm it, and then proceeded to do what was tactically exactly how we were trained. He followed it. He noticed it was occupied by a couple individuals. He called that into dispatch. He wa for help in order to be able to box in the vehicle. He didn't try to do it by himself, knowing he had multiple folks in the car. And they initiated basically a textbook car stop. So much so that the car that was stolen actually hit one of the police cars during the stop. And this was on the east side of Baltimore where Vince worked. Immediately upon the car stopping, the driver exited the vehicle and ran, as we all try to do. We want to get the driver. He's the priority. Vince took off after the driver while other officers detained the passengers. And there was a gun in the car as well. Vince took off in a foot chase, caught up to the driver in what was called an Alley, but is actually kind of a street combination alley. Baltimore City, you know, as you know, is a series of row houses, small streets, nooks and crannies, if you will. And Vince chased the driver of the vehicle down the alley and was able to catch up to him again. Our training at that time was you would sprawl people onto a wall or a fence that is, you know, kind of like you saw on tv. You know, hands out wide, feet out wide on the wall. That was the training at the time. It's now different, and we probably should get into that at some point. But Vince did it by textbook. And as he was doing his pat down and getting ready to handcuff an individual who turned out to be named Flint Gregory Hunt, he pushed off the wall, which, as we know, is something that people who are incarcerated quite often practice.

[John J. Wiley]

They practice it regularly. It was part of their daily training out in the yard.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yep. And so, you know, he pushed off the wall, was able to cause Vince to stumble, and he pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Vince almost point blank in the chest. Vince then staggered back and stumbled and ended up being kind of on all fours, bent over with his back facing Hunt. Hunt then fired another shot, which proved to be the fatal shot, into Vince's back, and then made his escape. Responding officers heard the shots, found Vince in the alley, attempted to resuscitate Vince and have him transported to a hospital, where Vince never made it to the operating room and was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

[John J. Wiley]

He was very, very young at this time. I believe, if memory is correct, he's like 25.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, yeah. Vince was 25 at the time. And then began not only the hunt, if you will, for the perpetrator, but the support that was needed for a obviously devastated family. And, you know, as a young police officer, I heard about this. I was working the midnight shift, and I'll never forget it. I'm sitting out early in the evening, getting ready to go in to the shift, and around dinner time, and neighbor came over. I lived in the northeast district of Baltimore at the time. A neighbor came over, asked me if I heard anything, and I said, no, what's up? And they proceeded to tell me because it was in the early evening that Vince was shot. And I immediately went in and tried to find out what was going on. And as with all the case, when something like this happens, everybody goes to work. You didn't have to be called in for overtime. Somebody in my district, the northeast border, the eastern. So normally you go in for midnight, you know, maybe 10, 10 30, 11 o', clock, get changed, play some pool, talk to everybody, you know, have a good time and then get ready to hit the road. But, you know, we went in early. What can we do? We got to start looking for this guy because he was stolen. The run. So that began that saga.

[John J. Wiley]

Do you remember, Gary, how long was for the announce the suspect's name? Because I'm trying to my memory banks is a long time ago. When I heard it was news relative, it was upsetting, very upsetting. And then when I heard who the suspect was, it was crushing.

[Gary McElhinney]

I can only imagine it was literally that evening that they had a suspect because the occupants in the car gave him up really quick. So they had, they had a name. Obviously they didn't, you know, have any forensics back or anything like that at the time and didn't have a warrant until shortly, you know, the next day. But they knew who they were looking for. And you know, back then, our homicide unit, man, it was, it was the best in the country. Yeah, I mean, those guys were amazing. Rick Requier. Yeah, Jay. Jay Landsman, some of those guys. I mean, they were the best of the best.

[John J. Wiley]

We had those guys. And I was talking with Chris Anderson and retired Birmingham homicide detective, star of Reasonable Doubt, in an interview, and he talked about the old heads, the old, back in the day when we were young police, the old homicide detectives that trained you, those guys. And I'm saying guys, that means men and women. When they talked, everybody listened. There was no back talk, there was no lip, none of that stuff. They had a way of carrying themselves. They meant business, they knew what they were doing. And if they said someone killed somebody, you could take it to the bank.

[Gary McElhinney]

Oh, absolutely. And you know, they didn't have the modern tools that they have now. Right. So they weren't tracking people's cell phones and getting all this forensic data. There was no dn. This had to be good old fashioned police work. Getting witnesses, building a case, getting confessions, getting interviews. I mean, these guys were good old school. I'm not taking anything away from you guys. Technology wasn't there.

[John J. Wiley]

Oh, man. We could talk about that when we return. It was what we call gumshoe policing. It was talking to people, it was neighborhood canvases, it was finding witnesses. It was doing this stuff that people don't want to do is not sexy, it's not fun, it's not cool. But that's where cases are solved. We're Talking with Gary McIlhenny, retired Baltimore Police detective, also retired Maryland Transportation Authority chief of Police and co author of the book Four Decades Police and Violent City of Baltimore's co author, Kevin Cowherd. We've got so much more to talk about. Don't go anywhere. We will be right back.

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[John J. Wiley]

Return in conversation with Gary McElhinney on the Law Enforcement Show. Gary is retired Baltimore Police Detective. He is also retired Maryland Transportation Authority Police Chief and co author of the book Bleeding Four Decades Policing a Violent City of Baltimore. Co author Kevin Cowherd we're talking your book is a lot about the murders of many Baltimore police and we're talking about the case which touched both of us. Vincent Adolfo, November 1985. He was murdered and the suspect was Flint Gregory Hunt, who had a connection with had arrested about a year before with a gun. When we left we talked about the homicide detective put out who they're looking for, there's warrants, all that stuff. And he had, if I remember correctly, he had taken off, didn't he?

[Gary McElhinney]

He did. He took off. He originally went to Philadelphia with a 16 year old girlfriend. She they separated in Philadelphia and he had bought a one way bus ticket to Santa Monica, California. Fortunately there was a nationwide manhunt for him and a woman traveling on a bus out of New York actually recognized him from a flyer that the local police department had been distributing to those bus terminals. Again, no Internet. Right. Gumshoe police work. Police officers handing out flyers at bus stations looking for people. And she recognized them and called the police. Was apprehended in Oklahoma. He got off a bus during a.

[John J. Wiley]

Break and I also Remember that he was the second to last. He was convicted. He was the second to last person in the history of Maryland to be executed. Am I correct?

[Gary McElhinney]

You are correct. He was executed July 2nd of 1997. So literally 12 years after he was arrested. Couple trials, couple appeals, resentence hearings. It was really an example of, in my view, how the criminal justice system treats victims. I became president of the FOP in 1996 and became good friends with Karen Adolfo, Vince's young widow. They did not have any children. And, you know, through that ordeal, I really saw firsthand how the system treats the victims. And the victims are not only the people that the crime is perpetrated against, but in this case, their family, their loved ones who simply want to see justice.

[John J. Wiley]

If our memory is correct, theirs was the stereotypical Hollywood described high school romance. They were romantic when they were kids, and they wait till she was older and they'd been together, that's all they ever knew was each other.

[Gary McElhinney]

Correct. Karen was 12 years old and Vince was 16 when they met. Karen wasn't allowed to date until she was 16. So, yeah. And Vince would travel roughly 30 miles to visit Karen daily, whether it was by bus or whether it was on his bicycle, traversing through Baltimore to get to the area in Baltimore county where Karen lives. So they were high school sweethearts even earlier and, you know, had a. Vince had joined the police department after a short career in construction, where he got hurt and was looking for something more stable so him and Karen could begin a life and begin a family. And the police department offered that.

[John J. Wiley]

One of the things I've always struggled with Gary is I tell people that if I saw a widow of an officer, I'd be afraid to talk to him. I'd be afraid of saying the wrong thing. And you help me with that quite a bit. As a prior interview with Kim Martin, d', Achilla, her husband, Billy Martin, who used to work for me in the central district of Baltimore, was shot and killed a couple months after transferred. She really helped. She said, you can't make things worse. The worst has already happened. The worst you can do is ignore us or not talk to me, talk about football. If I want to talk about Billy, I'll talk about Billy. If I don't, I won't. But Karen, I always felt guilty. You know, hindsight's 20 20, there's nothing I could have done different, but I always felt guilty that if I had done something different. I know logically this doesn't make sense. Vincent still be alive and I know, hindsight 20 20. I know. Look, I know logically that that didn't take the emotional aspect of it and always been scared to reach out and try to find Karen.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah, I'm still in touch with Karen today. Karen has built a wonderful life for herself, but clearly she was, you know, I don't even have the words to describe what the devastation occurred to her and her family by losing Vince. They had just been married a little like a month over two years prior to the. To Vince being killed. And, you know, Karen and I, we talk. We talk a lot over the years. We talked a lot. When I was preparing the book. I would not have done the book if Karen would have said no.

[John J. Wiley]

Isn't that amazing? She inspired you, kind of pushed you to move forward.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yes. I reached out to Karen saying, listen, I got this idea. I want to focus on police officers killed in the line of duty. I want to talk a lot in the book. And, you know, I devote little over three chapters of the book, just events, because subsequently to hunt trials, he was sentenced to death, as you mentioned. And, you know, I vowed to be there for Karen because Karen and you know, this, victims are not often granted the opportunity to witness the execution of someone that killed their loved one. And we were able to work it out where Karen could be a witness to the execution. And I wasn't going to let her go there alone, so I offered myself up to be a witness to the execution as well, so I could accompany Karen. And we've had a wonderful relationship over the years. She's just a dear, dear friend, and I, you know, really enjoy spending time with her.

[John J. Wiley]

Please tell her I said hello and she's. Feel free to reach out.

[Gary McElhinney]

Certainly will. Absolutely.

[John J. Wiley]

And I applaud you, Gary, for doing what you've done. Because here's what. When I originally started this idea for this show, twofold number one of them was a big part of it was so many survivors like Karen say their number one fear is that their loved one, a police officer or anybody else would be forgotten, that no one would tell their stories. And that's a big part of why we do the law enforcement show. I can applaud you for doing what you did to make sure that their memory is kept alive and that their sacrifice is kept alive, because so many great people in Baltimore have paid the ultimate price, and many people, many, many more have been severely injured, and they're in wheelchairs now.

[Gary McElhinney]

You're right, and you're right. It is hard. What do you say? The countless times throughout my career I responded to shock, trauma. You know, the hospital that treats our officers to hold a widow's hands or children's hands as the doctors come in and tell them that, you know, their loved one did not survive. It's hard. It's hard. But I can tell you, those of us that have been in the business of law enforcement, we say never forget. And we don't. We don't. And there's great organizations out there that help these family members that are left behind, and we got to support those. And quite frankly, a portion of my book sales are going to two organizations. One is the Signal 13 foundation, which helps Baltimore police officers in financial need and cops concerns of police survivors.

[John J. Wiley]

Great organizations. They're phenomenal. I want to talk about your book, Bleeding Blue Four Decades Policing the Violent City of Baltimore. Where can people find it? Where can they buy it? Because you said not only is it great read, but it helps benefit these two great organizations.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah. So, you know, I'm really proud of the book. It took a while. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But it's available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, any online book outlet. And like I said, proceeds are going to concerns of police survivors and Signal 13 foundation, two organizations that I've supported for years. And you know, writing a book is hard and it puts you out there.

[John J. Wiley]

You said earlier, we will never forget. And I'll be honest with you, there's times I wish I could, and there are times that memories come up and they're uninvited, they're not welcome, but they're still there.

[Gary McElhinney]

Yeah. And, you know, and they're always going to be there. I devote a section of the book with photographs of every officer that was killed during my career, whether it was in the Baltimore Police Department or as chief of police. I lost three officers in the line of duty and eulogized all three of those and are still close with their families. And I think that's the connection that makes it, I want to say, bearable because you're right, we never forget. And that can be good and bad.

[John J. Wiley]

I'm going to cut you off because we're almost out of time. Is there a place where people can find out more about you or contact you online?

[Gary McElhinney]

They can. They can. They can reach me online@gary McElhenney consulting.com and I, you know, I really appreciate. If anybody has any questions, wants to reach out, wants to talk to some of our family members or be in touch with law enforcement in Baltimore, please let me know. The publisher is Apprentice House Press. Great organization based out of Loyola University here in Baltimore. And you know, it was a great project. You said Kevin Cowart's a Baltimore guy. He was great to work with.

[John J. Wiley]

Cut you off. Gary, thanks so much for being a guest on the show. We will definitely have to have you back in the future.

[Gary McElhinney]

Great. Thank you so much.

[John J. Wiley]

I'd like to thank our guests. We're coming on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show is a nationally syndicated weekly radio show broadcast on numerous AM&FM radio stations across the country. We're always adding more affiliate stations. If you enjoyed the podcast version of the show, which is always free, please do me a favor and tell a friend or two or three. I'll be back in just a few days with another episode of Law Enforcement Talk Radio show and Podcast. Until then, this is John J. Wiley. See ya.

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[Gary McElhinney]

If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow.

[John J. Wiley]

Thank you for listening.