Killing of Nathan Heidelberg

Very early on March 5, 2019, Midland, Texas, United States, police officer Nathan Heidelberg (born December 2, 1990) was shot and killed while responding with fellow officers to a residence where a burglar alarm had gone off, the first Midland police officer killed on the job in over 50 years. The homeowner, David Wilson, an oil company executive who had fired the fatal shot in the belief that Heidelberg was an intruder attempting to force his way into his house, was arrested and charged with manslaughter, later increased to murder by a grand jury.

In late 2021, he was acquitted. There were several communication issues during the incident. The initial silent alarm soon turned out to have been erroneous, but that was not relayed to officers who were already responding to what they believed was a possible burglary in progress. The police assumed the alarm company would inform the Wilsons that they were on the way. Heidelberg may not have adequately made it clear that the police were on the scene. The Wilsons had also spoken with 911 on two separate occasions before learning that the suspects outside were actually the police after a third and final call was made from dispatch. The largest jury pool in Midland's history was called to hear the trial. Wilson relied on Texas's stand-your-ground law and castle doctrine in his defense. After his acquittal he and his lawyers brought an unsuccessful action to have the Midland County district attorney removed from office over alleged misconduct before the trial. Both he and Heidelberg's family are suing the alarm manufacturer and installer. The road on which Midland police headquarters is located has been renamed in Heidelberg's memory.