On this date (March 25) 1972 a newly married wife lost a husband, his father and mother lost a son, his brother and two sisters lost a brother, our nation and the State of Texas lost an active member of the United States Army National Guard and Dallas lost a Police Officer.
Patrolman Allen Perry Camp, Badge Number 3037, age 21, was shot and and killed as he investigated a Burglar Alarm at Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High School, 2001 East Kiest Boulevard.
At approximately 3:55 p.m. a two man element was dispatched to the location regarding a Sonotrol Alarm at the school. The alarm company reported they could hear voices and footsteps in the hallway of the school.
Patrolman Camp was nearby and responded to the location, parked his vehicle at the rear of the building and found a door open. He entered the building failing to wait on his cover element to arrive.
He first observed several vending machines broken into and then observed two suspects who ran upon seeing him.
Patrolman Camp ran after the suspects and as he caught up to them, both suspects attacked Patrolman Camp. During this scuffle one of the suspects was able to take control of Patrolman Camp’s service weapon, a .357 Magnum revolver. The suspect then fired striking Patrolman in the chest and heart area.
As the two man cover element arrived, they found Patrolman Camp’s police vehicle running at the rear of the building then observed one of the suspects exit the building covered in blood. One of the cover element officers pursued the suspect and was able to take him into custody. The other cover element officer was able to locate and take the second suspect into custody.
Patrolman Camp was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The actual shooter was found to be fifteen years old. He was certified as an adult by Juvenile Judge Ted Roberson. He was indicted for Capital Murder and upon trial found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. This suspect, Perry Lee Johnson had a lengthily juvenile record and was the suspect in over two hundred burglaries at the time of his arrest.
The second suspect, age 13 was also certified as an adult and was also convicted and received a life sentence. His name was not disclosed in any of the news articles I researched.
Patrolman Allen Perry Camp, a one year veteran of the Dallas Police Department is interred at Green Meadows Cemetery, Atoka, Oklahoma.
Note: I worked East Oak Cliff with Patrolman William M. Starks. We arrested Perry Lee Johnson over ten times in the three months we worked together. Each and every time he was taken to the Juvenile Division and we would observe him the next day. The majority of the arrests we made were theft and shop lifting offenses at the Lancaster-Kiest Shopping Center, most often the Treasure City Discount Store. I was transferred to the newly formed Fourth Watch and out of the area, but I am sure the arrests continued.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2022 05:36PM by DallasCop2566.