Age: 27
Served:  2 years
April 15, 1951 to March 7, 1953

A Lockland High School graduate, Robert Bastin served as a Marine on Okinawa.  In one incident, after being shot in the knee, he rescued two men trapped in a wrecked tank, suffered shell shock, and was buried beneath the debris of a shell explosion.  He returned to the United States with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.  He took a position as a supervisor instructor at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio so that he could strengthen his injured knee in order to qualify for the Cincinnati Police Division.  On April 15, 1951, he entered the Cincinnati Police Academy and graduated several months later.  By March 1, 1953, at 27 and living 646 Lincoln Avenue, he had earned assignment to a beat and was partnered with Patrolman James Feeney (24) of 2704 Euclid Avenue.

On March 7, 1953, at 1:35 a.m., Patrolman Bastin was operating a 1951 Ford sedan, with Feeney as a passenger, east on West Court Street at John Street, in District One.  Their vehicle collided with a 1950 Oldsmobile sedan operated south on John Street by David Hines (25) of 716 Baymiller Street.  Both patrolmen were thrown from the patrol car.  Patrolman Bastin ended up beneath Hines’s Oldsmobile and dragged thirty feet across the intersection.  He suffered a crushed skull, multiple fractures, and traumatic shock and was probably dead when the car came to rest.  Patrolman Feeney suffered a brain concussion, cuts, and bruises and directed passersby to carry him to the police vehicle where he radioed for help.  Hines suffered a compound fracture of his left foot, crushed mouth, and fractures of his skull and nose.  His passenger, Agnes Darden (18) of 327 Ellen Street, suffered multiple cuts and bruises.  All were taken to General Hospital.  Sergeant L. Badgett, Highway Safety Bureau, transported Patrolman Bastin’s body to the hospital at 2:17 a.m., where he was pronounced dead on arrival by Dr. Harold W. Baum, and to the Morgue at 4:25 a.m. 

Patrolmen E. Collier and W. Dewald of the Highway Safety Bureau investigated the crash.  Hines, a former Kentucky prison inmate with several traffic citations and arrests on his record, was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence and Reckless Driving.  Miss Darden corroborated the amount of alcohol he had ingested.  But, when the case came to court, the prosecutor dropped the charge of Driving Under the Influence.  Judge Clarence Denning found him guilty of Reckless Driving, fined him, and suspended his driver’s license for six months.

Patrolman Bastin left a pregnant wife, Mildred, his mother, Etta, three sisters, Mrs. Christine Pally, Mrs. Roixe Meyers, and Lill and a brother Benny.  Services were held on March 11, 1953, and he was buried at Walnut Hills Cemetery.  Mildred probably remarried as she is deceased and buried in another cemetery.

During 1995, Police Officer Terrence Forte was assigned Badge No. P230 and voluntarily surrendered it to the Police Division so that they could retired it.

If you have further information, artifacts, or pictures of this officer, please contact the Museum Director at Director@GCPHS.com.