Raleigh, N.C. — A man convicted of killing a Clayton police officer 25 years ago was denied parole Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the North Carolina Parole Commission took up the case of Bobby Earl Smith, who pleaded guilty in 1982 to second-degree murder in the death of Officer Ray Gilmore.

Gilmore, 24, was responding to a disturbance at an abandoned house on Jan. 31, 1982, when, according to authorities, Smith shot him in the head twice.

Smith has been eligible for parole every year since serving 10 years of a life imprisonment.

Gilmore's parents and several Clayton police officers attended the parole hearing Oct. 2. Officers said Gilmore is still very much a part of the department and that a discussion of his death is part of training for police officers.