Age: 22
Served: Almost 2 years
March 16, 1928 to April 23, 1930

On April 22, 1930, Patrolman Sargent M. Willis and three other District Five officers were summoned to investigate a 50-gallon still concealed in an approximately 12-foot-square cavern which had been dug into the side of a hill on a farm at Faraday Road near Baltimore Pike.

The officers were attempting to lift the still from the cavern when it exploded, showering some of them with boiling liquid and igniting the clothing of Willis and Sergeant Leo Hereth.

Police officials believed that the officers tore away a piece of a connection on a gas pipe which fed the stove used to heat the mash as they attempted to lift and disassemble the still. A lantern hanging in the cave then ignited the fumes from the escaping gas causing the explosion.   

Sargent Willis died from burns sustained on his body, head and limbs the following day. Sergeant Hereth, also a patient at General Hospital, was listed in serious condition but was expected to recover.  

Patrolmen Joseph Cunningham and Frank Bergman and were also burned; while Patrolman Homer Moreland was overcome by smoke. All were treated at General Hospital and expected to recover.

Sergeant Hereth, and Patrolmen Cunningham, Bergman and Moreland had been summoned to the scene by district Detectives Philip Vorherr and Fred Stagenhorst, who discovered the still.

While Vorherr and Stagenhorst were in the field adjoining the cavern when the explosion occurred, they immediately went to the aid of their fellow officers. The detectives were not injured.

Authorities seized eight barrels of mash and 60 gallons of liquor as evidence.

John Miller, 49, Rural Route No. Nine and the owner of the farm, and, according to a Cincinnati Enquirer accounting, the alleged owner of the still, was charged with possession and manufacturing of liquor and possession of a still.  He was arrested at his home.

Patrolman Willis left a 21-year-old wife of almost three years, Marie, and a 1½-year-old son, Sargent M. Willis, Jr. At the time of his death, the family lived at 4123 Fergus Street. He was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, on April 25, 1930, at 2:45 p.m. His son lived to be 75 years old and died in 2004.

Historical Background: State statutes banning alcohol were passed in our region prior to the Prohibition Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; and generally repealed before the U.S. Amendment was repealed. During the twelve years that alcohol was banned, 35 law enforcement officers in Greater Cincinnati lost their lives; at least twelve of which directly relating to alcohol production, transport, and consumption. Four of Middletown’s six line-of-duty deaths were among these, as were both of those killed from Seven Mile Village, Butler County

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