Age:     49
Served:  10 years
April 25, 1908 to August 6, 1918

George Lentz lived with his wife at 262 Walnut Street and was appointed patrolman under the administration of Mayor Thad Straub.  Patrolman Lentz was a member of the Loyal Order of Eagles, Monkey and Walnut Aid societies, and the Police Mutual Aid Society.

John Ledford (35), a Mosler Safe employee was out looking for trouble on Saturday evening, July 20, 1918, and carried with him a four-pound hammer as a weapon.  During the early morning of Sunday, July 21, 1918, Patrolman Lentz deemed it wise to take the hammer from Ledford, who by then was highly intoxicated. 

Ledford went home on Shuler Avenue near the Miami & Erie Canal, where he lived with his wife and six children, and left again with his Winchester .32-20 caliber rifle in search of Patrolman Lentz.  He stopped at the Mosler Safe Company and inquired of the guard who had taken his hammer from him.  When the guard replied that it had been Patrolman Lentz, Ledford informed the guard that he would “get” the officer.

Ledford found Patrolman Lentz at 1:20 a.m., on Shuler Avenue near the Fire Department’s Company No. 7’s Hose House.  He approached Patrolman Lentz, stuck the rifle in his left side, and discharged the weapon.  The bullet ripped through a lung and his diaphragm.  Patrolman Lentz was able to stricke Ledford, knocking him into a state of semi-consciousness. 

Several firemen and citizens apprehended Ledford, though he resisted.  The fireman and citizens turned Ledford over to Inspector of Police Dulle, Detectives Hetterich and Mueller, and Officers Leonard and Johnson.  They locked him up in the Butler County jail fearing that Ledford would be lynched. Dr. Edward Cook was called and he had Patrolman Lentz removed to Mercy Hospital. 
Initially, there was hope that Patrolman Lentz would recover.  He fared well on his second day, later developed a fever, but then was able to sit in a chair within a week.  He took a turn for the worse and, sixteen days after the shooting, on August 6, 1918, at 11:50 p.m., he died.

Patrolman Lentz left a wife, Emma F., two stepsons, Frank A. Seymore and Henry W. Seymore; two sisters, Mrs. Barbara Hafertepen and Mrs. Mary Leugers; a brother, Joseph Lentz; and step-brother, Nicholas Fries.  His funeral was at his house at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 9, 1918, and at St. Joseph’s church. He was buried in St. Stephens Cemetery in Hamilton, Ohio. 

Mrs. Lentz was allowed voted a pension of $25 per month, the highest permissible at the time. 
Hamilton Police Chief, Charles Sticker, signed a first degree murder warrant against Ledford on Wednesday, July 7, 1918, and he was arraigned on Thursday morning, July 8.  He was convicted only of Manslaughter in November 1918.

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