Age: 24
Served: 5 years
July 20, 1969 to July 17, 1974

On July 17, 1974, at 12:46 a.m. at the United Dairy Farmers store at 2373 Florence Avenue, near Gilbert Avenue, Roland Augustus Reaves, 23, wanted in Chicago for the horrific slaying of his wife, and Ricardo A. Woods, 24, of 2035 Auburn Avenue, were poised to rob the clerk, Robert Leigh Smith, of the night’s receipts; about $2000.  Reaves, with a .38 Special revolver that he had purchased the day before for $55.00, was on the roof waiting to jump the clerk.   Woods, with a .22 caliber pistol, was the lookout.  Mrs. Fay Valle, inside her apartment at 2413 Gilbert Avenue and looking out her window, saw Reaves and called the police.  The Cincinnati Police Communications Center dispatched cars to the scene. 

It is doubtful that any officers had their siren activated, but the two would be robbers heard sirens, probably Cincinnati Fire Department sirens, which were unrelated to their offense and they fled the scene.  As Patrolman Terry Kramer arrived at the scene, he saw the two walking down Florence Avenue.  Patrolman Cole, of 1439 Tallberry Drive, was working an off day in order to attend a weekend drill with the United States Army Reserve.  He responded up Florence Avenue, saw the two running from the scene, stopped, got out of his vehicle, and confronted the suspects.  Woods walked toward him and Reaves followed.  Reaves then pushed Woods aside and shot Patrolman Cole three times and then Woods shot him twice.   Shot in the head, chest, and back, Patrolman Cole returned four shots which did not take effect.  According to a witness, Eura Morton of 749 Monroe Street, Reaves yelled “a dirty obscene word about how he’d kill all of the SOBs.”  The shooters ran to a wooded area beneath the Kenton Street Bridge, up to Gilbert Avenue, and then through the yards to and friend’s home on Nassau Street.  There, they changed clothes and unloaded their handguns.  Reaves told the friends he had to kill the officer because the officer could identify him.  He later bragged to his sister about having killed a police officer. 

Patrolman Cole was still alive but unable to talk when Patrolman Richard Sizemore found him.  He was taken to General Hospital by Officer Schulte where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. by Dr. R. Rooney.

As the day unfolded, police had no suspects.  The Fraternal Order of Police posted a $1000 reward and the Fraternal Order of Police Association a $500 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.  The Cincinnati Enquirer also offered $250 through their “Secret Witness Program”.  A squad of Homicide detectives was formed to exclusively investigate the offense:  Sergeant Paul Morgan and Detectives Bernie Kersker, Tom Gardner, Hank Snodderly, and Richard Burgess.

On Thursday, July 18, 1974, at about 9:30 a.m., detectives found and arrested Reaves at his sister’s home on Auburn Avenue. He implicated Ricardo Woods.  On Friday, July 19, 1974 the Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted Woods.  Woods was arrested at, and the .38 revolver used by Reaves were found in, the home of his mother, Dorothy Barnett in Stonewood, West Virginia.  On Saturday, July 20, 1974, Cincinnati Detectives Hank Snodderly and Frank Sefton drove to the Marion County Jail in Fairmont, West Virginia, and questioned Woods.  He admitted that he and Reaves planned to rob the United Dairy Farmers and then heard sirens and ran down Florence Avenue.  Woods was extradited to Cincinnati for trial.

Also on July 19, 1974 one thousand people and three hundred traveled from Cincinnati to E. C. Nurre Funeral Home in Amelia to attend Patrolman Cole’s layout.  The next morning, July 20, 1974, a huge procession formed at the Cincinnati Police Division Headquarters at 310 Lincoln Park Drive (now Ezzard Charles Drive) and drove to Amelia to escort Patrolman Cole to his final resting place in St. Peter’s Cemetery in New Richmond. 
David Cole left a wife, Cheryl, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Cole, who annually attend the Police Memorial Parade in May.  He was also survived by four younger siblings; Ken, Connie, James Jr., and Steve.  The “100 Club” contributed to Mrs. Cole $1000.  The United Dairy Farmers contributed $5000.  The Fraternal Order of Police Death Benefit Club gave her $9500.

On July 30, 1974 Judge Frank M. Gusweiler scheduled separate trials for Woods and Reaves to begin on October 15, 1974.  The cases were prosecuted by the Hamilton County Prosecutor Simon L. Lies, Jr., and his Chief Assistant, Fred J. Cartolano.  Defense attorneys were Thomas Stueve, Bernard J. Gilday, Jr., Harry McIllwain, and Jack Rubenstein.  The two would be the first to be tried under the new charge of Aggravated Murder with a Police Officer specification requiring a sentencing of death. 

A three-judge panel of William R. Matthews, William S. Matthews, and Robert L. Black, Jr. convicted Woods and sentenced him to die by electrocution on January 31, 1977.  Because of a Supreme Court ruling, his death penalty was commuted to life.  He was incarcerated until September 2, 1994, and after twenty years, at age 44, released on parole.  He was last seen in 2008 driving a Cadillac in Avondale. 

A jury sequestered for twenty-three hours returned a verdict of guilty for Reaves.  Roland Reaves was sentenced to die by electrocution February 1, 1977, but his death penalty was also commuted to life imprisonment.  As of September 2009, he was incarcerated at the London Correctional Institution.  He has a parole hearing scheduled for March 2017.  He will be 65.

In the years prior to the killing, the Fraternal Order of Police and Police administrations debated with the city’s Mayor Theodore Berry and Councilman David Mann regarding a need for 250 more police officers.  According to Chief Goodin, experts from the International Association of Chiefs of Police said that Cincinnati needs 200 more men for maximum police efficiency.  The complement was 1,132 officers and 218 civilians.  After the murder, Councilman Mann suggested hiring civilians to replace sworn officers for patrol duty.  Three weeks following the assassination, City Manager E. Robert Turner, with the backing of Safety Director Henry Sandman and Police Chief Carl V. Goodin, submitted to City Council a plan to spend $400,000 for overtime in order to temporarily implement 38 two-man units.  It was intended to be a temporary solution, permanency contingent upon a formal study into the matter.  Instead of bolstering the organization to an effective level of more than 1500, by the end of 1976, City Council laid off 124 police officers.  Lay-offs occurred again during 1980.  It would take 30 years before the complement again reached 1,117.  Then, by 2010, the complement was reduced again to 1,057.

David Cole's widow, Cheryl, provided most of the research material for this narrative. If you have further information, artifacts, or pictures of this officer, please contact the Museum Director at Director@GCPHS.com.