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To honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to the public........ |
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To honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to the public........ |
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Date of Hire
:Unknown |
The first officer killed in the line of duty was Cyrus
Beebe. On April 27, 1854, Beebe whose date of entrance to the City Police is unknown, was
working with Licking County Officers, who were looking for a William Jones, Alias William
Morgan. Jones was wanted by Licking County for burglary and was reportedly hiding out at
the Scioto Hotel , in Columbus. When the officers arrived at the hotel, Jones refused to
surrender, and a gun battle ensued. Beebe was shot dead by Jones who made his escape into
the crowd. |
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Date of Hire
:Unknown |
On September 10, 1899, Detective Kleeman and Detective George
Gaston engaged in a shooting affray with Charles Dumont at Poplar and Harrison Avenues,
and Dumont, with four bullets in his body, died during the battle. Detective Kleeman, badly wounded, died September 15, 1899. Detective Gaston, wounded in the forehead, carried the bullet from the gun battle to his grave. |
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Date of Hire :1899 |
As night headquarters man, patrolman Daniel Davis received a call
that prowlers were burglarizing a home on East Broad Street. Responding to the summons, he
was shot by one o the intruders and died in the patrol wagon en route to St. Francis
Hospital Frank Caster, of Flint, Michigan, one of the burglars who escaped by leaping from the roof of the home, injured his ankle and was captured by another policeman with Davis. He was later convicted of murder and was electrocuted in the Ohio Penitentiary. |
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Date of Hire
:September 28, 1906 |
On December 24, 1908 Patrol Harry Campbell was shot to death by
Harry Hilliard on West Rich Street, about a block from the old city prison. Hilliard was later captured by police an sentenced to life in the Ohio Penitentiary. The sentence was later reduced and he was paroled. |
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Date of Hire :May
8, 1911 |
In July, 1911, two months after being made a full fledged patrolman, Patrolman Frank Ward was responding with another officer to a domestic complaint at a home on Lehman Street. The suspect, Charles Glass was threatening a relative with a shotgun. Glass shot Patrolman Ward in the head. As Patrolman Ward went down, he returned fire, wounding Glass in the hip. |
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Date of Hire :May
1, 1905 |
On March 25, during the flood of 1913, Officer Sexton was doing rescue work in the vicinity of Rich and Mitchell Streets when he fell from the rowboat in which he was riding and was drowned. His body was recovered five days later. |
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Date of Hire :July
1, 1913 |
On November 9, 1914, Patrolman James Ballard was walking his beat
when he discovered burglars had broken into Tom's Hall Restaurant at Oak Street and
Parsons Avenue. When the burglars saw the officer, they opened fire, fatally wounding
Ballard who died within the hour. "Money Jim" Smith and his partner were captured 48 hours later and Smith was sentenced to the electric chair. The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. |
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Date of Hire :
April 29, 1913 |
On June 26, 1913, two months after becoming a Columbus Police Officer, Patrolman Joseph Lavendar was struck from behind by a streetcar at Broad and Mitchell Streets. He was pushed in front of the car for 20 feet. He died without regaining consciousness a few minutes after he was taken to Mount Carmel Hospital. |
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Date of Hire :
June 10, 1916 |
On August 22, 1916 Patrolman John Laufhutte stepped from a business place at Beck and High Streets and noticed two suspicious men in an auto parked at the curb. As he walked over to investigate, he was shot down by one of the men, the bullet striking the officer in the lung. He died 45 minutes later and no clues were ever found to identify his assailants. |
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Date of Hire :
June 17, 1888 |
On November 24, 1917, while assigned to the pawnshop squad,
Detective William Rourke was making his rounds when one Will Wright walked into a pawnshop
with a bundle under his arm, presumed to be stolen property. The detective identified
himself and asked what was in the bundle, whereupon Wright produced a gun and shot the
officer. Wright escaped, but was later apprehended and sentenced to death in the electric chair at the Ohio Penitentiary. |
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Date of Hire :May
17, 1917 |
On February 8, 1919, Patrolman David Jenkins was walking his district beat on the south side, when he was summoned to a residence on a report of a prowler in the yard. Upon investigating the complaint, he encountered a man with a gun and was slain in the ensuing gun fight. The suspect was also wounded and died a short time later. |
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Date of Hire : May
20, 1899 |
On September 23, 1920, Patrolman Adolph Schneider was working out of headquarters with Patrolman Ed Nichols on night duty when they arrested William Adams, of Ironton. Schneider rode with Adams, in his vehicle, while Nichols followed in the Police squad car. At Town and Front Streets, the prisoner drew a gun . As Schneider struggled with Adams, the vehicle crashed into a streetcar. Schneider was thrown from the vehicle and died several days later. |
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Date of Hire : May
17, 1917 |
On October 28, 1920, Detective Charles Tiller approached a
suspected bootlegger in a saloon at Maple and Armstrong Streets. As the man entered the
saloon, Tiller asked to see the contents of a basket the man was carrying. The suspect
drew a gun and shot Tiller two times. His assailant fled the scene. Detective Tiller died in Protestant Hospital just as he was being placed on the operating table. |
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Date of Hire :
October 9, 1918 |
On February 26, 1921, while working in plain clothes, Patrolman
Jesse Reall intercepted the delivery of a load of whiskey at 6th and Naughten Streets. One
of the men making the delivery shot the officer to death. Police searched for "Pomp" Brooks as the shooter and the case attracted wide attention. Because both Officers Tiller and Reall had lost their lives to the guns of bootleggers, Reall's death led to sweeping reforms to handle the liquor racket in Columbus. |
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Date of Hire :
July 1, 1913 |
On November 28, 1922, Patrolman Granston Koehler was working on the
north side with Patrolman Roscoe Friddle. At Goodale and High Streets, the officers
spotted a parked vehicle and decided to investigate after having received word that a band
of Cleveland bank robbers were believed to be headed for Columbus. As Koehler placed his
foot on the running board of the car, he was shot to death by the occupants, and Officer
Friddle was wounded. Friddle managed to empty his revolver at the fleeing car before he
collapsed. The car was later abandoned on West Broad Street and one of the men, Peter Long was found dead in the car. The remaining suspects were later captured in Madison County. |
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Date of Hire
:October 11, 1923 |
On April 22, 1924, Patrolman Troy C. Stewart was working in plain
clothes in the vice squad. He was shot in the legs and abdomen by one Charles Thomas at
Lincoln and 4th Streets when he attempted to arrest Thomas after he and another man had
engaged in a gun battle. Patrolman Stewart died en route to White Cross Hospital. |
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Date of Hire :
July 1, 1920 |
On March9, 1925, while pursuing a suspected auto thief at midnight at Broad and Lazelle Streets, Patrolman Shaffer on foot, was struck by a car and died enroute to Grant Hospital without regaining consciousness. |
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Date of Hire :
July 1, 1920 |
On May 29, 1925 Detective Walter O. Womeldorf was working with fellow officers and probation agents when bootleggers were apprehended in the vicinity of Mt. Vernon and Taylor Avenues. A shooting affray resulted and in the darkness, Detective Womeldorf was mistaken for one of the bootleggers and was shot and killed by one of his own party. |
Patrolman William Sweinsberger Date of Hire :
February 11, 1903 |
On January 7, 1926, Patrolman Sweinsberger was working his district and had just left a patrol call box and started to cross the street at Livingston Avenue and 4th Street when he was struck and killed by an auto. The identity of the hit-skip motorist was never learned. |
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Date of Hire :
July 13, 1923 |
On March 29, 1927, at about 11am, Patrolman Horace Elliott was
riding his motorcycle at Sandusky and West Broad Streets when he skidded and crashed into
a safety zone. He suffered a fractured skull and later died. Patrolman John Garner was also injured the same night when his motorcycle skidded and crashed as he went to summon aid for Patrolman Elliott. |
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Date of Hire :
July 1, 1920 |
On July 7, 1931, Patrolman Thomas Day was bringing a prisoner to
Police Headquarters when the auto in which he was riding was struck by another car at
Woodland Avenue and Broad Street. Patrolman Day suffered a fractured skull and died in St.
Clair Hospital. The driver of the other car was charged with manslaughter. |
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Date of Hire : May
2, 1928 |
On October 4, 1931, Patrolman Leslie Green and Patrolman Clell Cox
were assigned to patrol wagon duty. They were called to Grant Avenue and Main Street to
pick up an auto tire thief suspect. The prisoner asked permission to get his coat from the
auto, but instead produced a gun and killed Patrolman Green. The suspect, Willard Jordan was subdued and arrested by Patrolman Cox. |
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Date of Hire
:March 27, 1922 |
On May 23, 1934, Patrolman Ross Porter and Patrolman Uhlan Boystel
were making an emergency run when they were involved in an accident with another vehicle
and then struck a building. Patrolman Porter died in St. Francis Hospital almost a month
later of injuries received in the crash.
Patrolman Boystel was not injured in the accident. |
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Date of Hire :
October 9, 1922 |
On May 11, 1935, Officer Edward Murphy was assigned to No.1 cruiser
with Patrolman John P. Sears. Patrolman Murphy had cornered a burglar in the stairway
landing to the basement of a building at Long and High Streets. A gun battle ensued and
Patrolman Murphy had emptied his gun at the suspect. As he started down the stairs in foot
pursuit, the man opened fire. Patrolman Murphy was struck four times. The suspect was later captured and electrocuted in the Ohio Penitentiary. |
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Date of Hire :
November 1, 1922 |
On November 30, 1936, Patrolman John P. Sears went to the rear of
the 165-1/2 North Third Street with six other officers to search for a man wanted in
Toledo on a murder charge. When Patrolman Sears kicked in a door to gain entrance, it
rebounded, throwing him through a second floor banister. He fell 14 feet, landing on his
head. He died a few minutes later in Grant Hospital. This address was the same building where the suspect that had murdered his former partner, Patrolman Ed Murphy, was captured. |
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Date of Hire :
February 1, 1927 |
On February 5, 1938, Detective Robert Cline and several other officers had cornered suspected bank robbers in a Guilford Avenue rooming house following the robbery of a West Side bank. A gun battle resulted in the deaths of Detective Cline and three of the suspects. The fourth suspect, Stephen Figuli, was electrocuted in the Ohio Penitentiary, December 21, 1938. |
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Date of Hire :
August 23, 1937 |
On January 9, 1939, shortly after midnight, Patrolman Campbell
Jenkins was found unconscious and badly injured on Cleveland Avenue near the Pennsylvania
Railroad crossing. His badly damaged motorcycle was found nearby. Patrolman Jenkins died
without regaining consciousness. The exact cause of the accident was never determined, but it was presumed that Patrolman Jenkins was either crowded off the road by a motorist or crashed while chasing a speeder. |
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Date of Hire :
March 5, 1941 |
On the night of January 18, 1942, Patrolman John M. McCullough was assigned to motorcycle duty and was apparently chasing a speeder at Neil and 4th Avenues when his motorcycle collided with an automobile. he later died at University Hospitals. |
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Date of Hire :
Unknown |
On the morning of August 17, 1956, Officers Thomas E. Webb and
Melvin Grimm responded to a domestic disturbance at 683 East Capital Street. Within
minutes of their arrival Bennie Franklin, the estranged husband of the resident, opened
fire. Officer Webb was fatally wounded with one shot in the head. Officer Grimm was shot
in back, but did eventually recover. Immediately after the shootings, Franklin, trapped in an upstairs bedroom, committed suicide by shooting himself. |
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Date of Hire :
Unknown |
In the early morning hours of January 18, 1963, Officer Richard Taylor, assigned to cruiser patrol was in pursuit of a speeding motorist when his cruiser crashed into a stone wall on East Livingston Avenue. Officer Taylor died of his injuries the following day. |
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Date of Hire :
Unknown |
During the early morning hours of November 5, 1964, Lt. Allen
Fraley and Officer L. Bankert responded to 84 West First Avenue on a follow-up out of a
rape complaint. A woman opened the door to the apartment and the officers identified
themselves and asked to speak to Eugene Duling, a resident of the apartment and the rape
suspect. The woman stepped out of the way and opened the door wide. Duling, who was
inside, shot Lt. Fraley at point-blank range. Officer Bankert immediately entered the
room, but Duling escaped by jumping out the window. He was later captured in front of 82
Price Avenue. Lt. Fraley died later that day at University Hospital. |
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Date of Hire :
July 1, 1959 |
On May 27, 1965, Patrolman Robert Lisska was on motorcycle patrol
on Columbus' West Side when he tried to avoid striking an automobile that had changed
lanes into his path. Patrolman Lisska lost control of the motorcycle and hit a utility
pole. He was killed instantly. The driver of the car was later apprehended and charged with changing lanes without safety. |
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Date of Hire
:April 13, 1955 |
During the month of June, 1961, Officer Daniel Redding and his
partner were called to a burglary-in-process on the City's West Side. A foot-chase ensued
with the burglary suspects. Officer Redding severely injured his leg when he fell over a
fence. A serious infection developed, resulting in 27 surgeries from 1962 to 1964. Officer
Redding retired on disability in 1964. On July 27, 1965, Officer Redding died as a result of the injuries sustained in 1961. |
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Date of Hire :
April 16, 1953 |
On December 21, 1965, Patrolman William Wells was working a special duty police assignment at the F&R Lazarus parking garage at Front and Rich Streets when a car coming down the exit ramp went out of control. Patrolman Wells was struck by the vehicle and died instantly. |
Auxiliary Officer Entered Auxiliary
Police: 1957 |
On the evening of October 14, 1969, Auxiliary Officer Lawrence Kipfinger was on personal errands in his personal car. At the time, Officer Kipfinger was monitoring a police scanner and a robbery-in-progress call was aired at the Lawson Store at 1235 Hudson Street. Officer Kipfinger was near this location and responded. Officer Kipfinger went to a side-door of the store as uniformed officers approached the front door. The robbers exited through the side door and one of them fired one shot at Officer Kipfinger, who was struck in the head and died several hours later. |
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Date of Hire :
March 16, 1970 |
On March 22, 1972, Officers Curtis Staton and David Wilson were
working an ambulance cruiser and had responded to a disturbance call at 2531 Summit
Street. As Officer Staton stood at the top of the stairs, knocking on the apartment door,
it was suddenly jerked open and Staton was shot twice in the chest at point blank range by
one Jerry Cassady. Officer David Wilson returned fire, killing Cassady. |
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Date of Hire :
October 11, 1970 |
In the evening hours of August 28, 1972, Officer Joseph Edwards and
his partner, Officer Charles McFadden, were on routine patrol. As they approached the
intersection of Woodland and Maryland, they were fired upon from an ambush. Officer
Edwards was killed by a shotgun blast and Officer McFadden was wounded. After an intensive search and investigative work, it was determined that one Allen Thrower was responsible for the killing. Four and one-half months later, Thrower was captured in Beaumont, Texas and returned to stand trial. |
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Date of Hire :
January 2, 1972 |
On May 18, 1974, while issuing a parking ticket in front of 924 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Officer James Reed suffered a heart attack. Officer Michael Tanner, who was nearby, immediately began administering CPR and while a passerby called for help. Officer Reed died a short time later in the emergency room at St. Anthony Hospital. |
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Date of Hire :
April 13, 1955 |
On June 7, 1974, Sergeant Dale McCann radioed from his cruiser that he was chasing a speeding car east-bound on Sullivant Avenue from Central Avenue. The chase ended when the driver lost control of the car on McKinley Avenue near Harper. Two young men attempted to flee after the crash. Sergeant McCann tackled one of the men and was putting handcuffs on him, when he suffered a heart attack. Officers at the scene immediately began CPR, but Sergeant McCann died a short time later at Mt. Carmel Hospital. |
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Date of Hire :
April 1, 1967 Date of Hire :
August 13, 1972 |
On August 11, 1976, Officers Roger Brown and Michael Smith were responding to the aid of other officers who were involved in a vehicular chase on the City's far east side. The fleeing vehicle rammed head-on into the officer's cruiser at the intersection of Livingston and Hamilton Road. Both officers were killed instantly. The driver of the other car was also killed. |
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Date of Hire :
August 10, 1978 |
On September 6, 1980, officers were dispatched to Cleveland and 23rd Avenues where a man reportedly had a gun. The patrol van in which Officer Martin Yawarsky was a passenger and another cruiser responding to the same call, collided at the intersection of 26th and Hamilton Avenues. The van then struck a third vehicle and flipped onto its top. Officer Yawarsky was killed at the scene. A prisoner being transported in the van was also killed. Two other officers and the two occupants of the third vehicle were injured in the collision. |
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Date of Hire :
August 26, 1963 |
In the early morning hours of April 5, 1986, Officer Gordon Rich
was working a federal traffic enforcement program when he stopped a vehicle on Interstate
70 at State Route 315. While Officer Rich was writing out the citation, he was attacked by
one of the occupants of the vehicle. the suspect gained control of Officer Rich's service
weapon and shot him twice. Officer Rich died a short time later at Mt. Carmel Medical
Center. A witness to the altercation, followed the assailants as they fled the scene. They abandoned their vehicle on the City's near east side, and were apprehended later the same morning. |
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Date of Hire :
February 15, 1955 |
On
July 11, 1974, Officer Richard Fickeisen went to 413 N. Virginia Lee
Road to serve a traffic warrant. When no one answered at the door of
the apartment, Officer Fickeisen exited the building and began walking
back to his cruiser. As he passed a man on the sidewalk, the man suddenly
drew a .38 revolver and fired, striking Officer Fickeisen in the back. The bullet struck Officer Fickeisen's spine and he was paralyzed from the waist down. He underwent numerous operations, but suffered ongoing medical problems until he died in 1987 as a direct result of his injuries. |
Officer Jane E. Thompson - Bowman Date of Hire :
April 2, 1978 |
On January 31, 1981, Officer Jane Thompson-Bowman was working as an
undercover narcotics officer when she and other officers served a search warrant on an
Eastfield Drive residence. After the officers were admitted to the house, a suspect inside
opened fire with a .25 caliber pistol. Officer Thompson-Bowman was shot twice in the
abdomen. Two other Columbus officers and a Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy were also
wounded. The suspect was apprehended at the scene. He was later convicted on four counts
of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 to 100 years in prison. Officer Thompson-Bowman retired on disability in September of 1983. In the years following her injury, she underwent surgery 30 times and was hospitalized 60 times. On March 9, 1989, she died as a direct result of her injuries. |
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Date of Hire :
March 7, 1965 |
On January 4, 1991, Officer Robin Nye, responded with his partner
to a call for back-up from another officer. When Officer Nye's cruiser entered the
intersection of Cassady and Airport Drive, it was struck broad-side on the driver's door
by another vehicle and forced into a third vehicle. Officer Nye was transported via medical helicopter to Ohio State University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. His partner suffered a broken arm in the collision. |
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Date of Hire :
October 31, 1966 |
On
April 20, 1991, Officer Raymond Radel and his son, Tom, along with several
other officers were returning from an automobile show in Pennsylvania
where they had been promoting the Police Athletic League's Classic Car
Show. As they were headed west-bound on I-70, east of Brice Road, a
car traveling east-bound at high speed veered across the median strip,
striking Officer Radel's truck and trailer. The car exploded in flames.
Witnesses pulled Officer Radel and his son from the burning wreckage.
They were flown to Ohio State University Medical Center where Officer Radel passed away on April 25, 1991. |
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Date of Hire : May
27, 1990 |
In
the early morning hours of December 10, 1993, Officer Chris Clites responded
to a call for assistance from another officer who reported fleeing suspects
from a routine traffic stop at St. Clair and Bonham Avenues. Officer
Clites had joined two other officers in searching for the suspects when
he was confronted by one of the perpetrators. Gunfire was exchanged
and Officer Clites shot the suspect once in the chest before suffering
a gunshot wound to the head. Officer John Holloway, who witnessed the
shooting, also fired upon the suspect, who died at the scene. It was later discovered that the fleeing individuals had robbed a convenience store earlier that day and were driving a stolen vehicle. |
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Date of Hire :
October 16, 1988 |
In the early evening hours of April 5, 1995, Officer Marc Muncy
responded to a call for assistance from another officer. While enroute east-bound on
Fisher Road over I-270, Officer Muncy's cruiser struck debris in the roadway, causing his
vehicle to go out of control. The cruiser traveled over a concrete median strip and
collided with a westbound tractor-trailer. Both vehicles were engulfed in flames. Officer
Muncy died at the scene. At the time of the accident, Officer Muncy was the next officer on the promotional list for Sergeant. On April 11, 1995, Police Chief James G. Jackson posthumously promoted Officer Muncy to the rank of Sergeant. |
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Date of Hire :
March 16, 1970 |
In
the late evening hours of July 3, 1995, Officer Keith Evans was directing
traffic on West Broad Street west of I-70 following Columbus' annual
Fourth of July 'Red, White, and Boom' celebration. A motorist disregarded
Officer Evan's traffic commands and struck Officer Evans with his vehicle.
Officer Evans was transported to Mt. Carmel Medical Center, where he
died July 9, 1995. The motorist, who left the scene, was apprehended a few blocks away and eventually plead guilty to the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter.. |
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Lieutenant Date of Hire :
June 16, 1987 |
Early the morning of April 29, 2001, Lieutenant Christopher N. Claypool, working as the Zone-Two Patrol Lieutenant, stopped to provide assistance to motorists involved in a property damage auto accident at the intersection of Refugee Road and Eastland Five (the West exit from Eastland Mall).. Witnesses indicate that as Lieutenant Claypool was walking toward one of the vehicles, a car speeding east on Refugee Road appeared from nowhere and struck Lieutenant Claypool, then fled the area. Lieutenant Claypool was
treated at the scene by members of the Columbus Division of Fire who
transported him to Grant Hospital ER. Despite the heroic efforts
of the many firefighters, doctors, nurses and other personnel of Grant
Hospital, Lieutenant Christopher Claypool, a 13 year member of the
Columbus Division of Police, died at 1:34AM. He was 39 years of age.
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Date of Hire : November 19, 1997 |
At approximately 1:00 AM on Saturday, December 4, 2004, Officer Melissa M. Foster, while working Cruiser #147, was responding to a report of a prowler. Officer Foster was travelling S/B on Gender Rd. from Wright Rd. when a N/B vehicle crossed the center line and struck her cruiser head-on. Officer Foster was treated for her injuries at the scene of the accident by Columbus Division of Fire personnel. She was then transported via a medical helicopter to Grant Hospital, where she subsequently passed away. Officer Foster was 35 years old at the time of her death. The driver who went left of center, causing the accident, was charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, and is currently awaiting trial on that charge. |
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This page was last updated on: December 15, 2004
