Police Officer Charles Burdsall P87
Age: 29
Served 5½ years
October 29, 1972 to July 15, 1978
On July 15, 1978, at 12:10 a.m., Officer Burdsall stopped a vehicle which he suspected was involved in an armed robbery minutes before at the King Kwik convenience store at McMicken and Dixmyth Avenues. He stopped the car at 3001 West McMicken Avenue. As he approached the car, either Wayne Reed or Russell Bell, both black males, shot Burdsall with a handgun. A civilian, Bart Melon, Jr., was with Officer Burdsall. Melon, a police officer’s son, ran from the passenger side of the police cruiser, pulled Burdsall's revolver, and shot at the suspects as the car pulled away. During this exchange, one of suspects’ bullets grazed Melon’s back. Police Officer Phillips was the first officer on the scene. Still alive, Officer Burdsall was taken to General Hospital, where he died and was pronounced by Dr. Stanton, at 4:30 a.m. Several bullet holes in the car later helped identify Reed and Bell.

Officer Burdsall left a wife, Karen. His brother, Donald Burdsall, retired as a Lieutenant from the Police Department several years later.
Wayne Reed was sentenced to die in the electric chair, but his sentence was commuted to life. During June 2006, he was incarcerated at the Madison Correctional Institute. He has a parole hearing scheduled February 2011.
Russell Bell was sentenced to die in the electric chair, but his sentence was commuted to life. During June 2006, he was incarcerated at the London Correctional Institute. He has a parole hearing scheduled June 2008.

Police Officer Dennis Bennington P82
Age: 27
Served: 9½ years
July 20, 1969 to March 6, 1979
Police Officer Robert Seifert P735
Age: 31
Served: 8 years
February 28, 1971 to March 6, 1979
On March 6, 1979, at 1 a.m., Officer Seifert stopped a vehicle he suspected of being driven by Gregory Daniels, a twenty-eight year old black male of 2006 Vine Street wanted for an Aggravated Robbery warrant from December 1978 when he and Officer Dennis Bennington had been working in the Robbery Task Force. Officer Seifert, on a car-to-car radio channel, called for Officer Bennington to respond. Seifert pulled Daniels over westbound on Oak Street just after they had passed May Street. Bennington arrived eastbound on Oak Street, just past Bethesda Hospital. Both officers approached the vehicle as Daniels exited. Daniels suddenly pulled a revolver, pointed it at Officer Bennington, fired, and struck him in the middle of the chest, destroying the top of his heart and knocking him down. Daniels then, while getting back into the car, fired over his shoulder at Officer Seifert striking him in the head as he dove for cover behind the car. Seifert’s head struck the 10” curb and broke his neck. Officer Bennington, though mortally wounded, got up, drew his revolver, and fired at Daniels as he pulled away, striking him in the head and killing him instantly. With his lifeless foot on the accelerator, the car sped into a steel utility pole near Reading Road and Sharon Johnson, a twenty-five year old black female, also of 2206 Vine Street and a passenger in Daniels' car, was slightly injured by glass.

Officer Art Evans was the first officer on the scene. Both officers were taken immediately to Bethesda Oak Hospital (one block from the shooting). Officer Bennington’s injuries were irreparable. He died and was pronounced by Dr. Gonzalez at 2:27 a.m. Police Officer Broering transported him to the morgue. Seifert also died and was pronounced by Dr. Greiner at 3:09 a.m. Police Officer Tom VonLeuhrte transported him to the morgue.
Officer Seifert, a New Jersey native, had been a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. He had been given nearly no chance of surviving his tour of duty and was shot down twice. He was killed in Cincinnati during no less honorable service to his community. He left a wife, Janet, and four children.

Officer Bennington was survived by his wife, Linda, two children, Tina and Timmy, and both parents, Ruth and Robert. Both his parents died soon after him, some believe from the stress of losing their son. Mrs. Bennington never recovered and later ended her own life. Orphaned, Timmy and Tina were sent to St. Aloysius Orphanage in Bond Hill.

Police Officer Melvin Henze P279
Age: 28
Served 8 years
February 28, 1971 to May 5, 1979
On May 4, 1979, at a pool hall located in downtown Cincinnati, an argument over eight dollars developed between Percy Wilson, a twenty-eight year old black male of 126 Mulberry Street, and Vicki Clayton. Wilson left the pool hall saying he was coming back to shoot somebody. Fifteen minutes later, he returned with a gun, pointed it at Ms. Clayton and pulled the trigger several times. The gun failed to fire. He left, returned again minutes later and fired five several shots in front of the pool hall striking an innocent bystander.

The next day, May 5, 1979, Percy Wilson again returned to the pool hall and a patron saw him. As the patron called the police, Wilson pointed the gun at him and said, "I will kill anyone who messes with me."

At 1:30 p.m., Officer Henze, of 4177 Hanley Road in White Oak, searched for and found Percy Wilson getting into an automobile. Officer Henze called for backup assistance and pursued the vehicle. When the vehicle was stopped, the two occupants in the car said they had kicked Wilson out of the car because he had a gun.

Officer Henze then spotted Wilson on foot. Wilson fled on foot down Naeher Alley and Officer Henze pursued in his cruiser. While Office Henze was driving past a building at 925 Naeher Alley, Wilson came out from behind the building and shot Officer Henze in the upper body through his open car window. Responding officers heard a garbled transmission on Officer Henze's police radio. When they arrived on the scene, they found Officer Henze in his cruiser, having been shot six (6) times. Officers Nick Misch and Wes Sullivan arrested Wilson near the scene. Officer Henze, still alive, was transported to General Hospital where he died and was pronounced by Dr. Storer, at 2:28 p.m. Officer Bruce transported him to the morgue.

Officer Henze was buried in St. James Cemetery on Hubble Road. He left a five year old daughter, Kathleen (Kate).

Wilson was questioned as to whether he shot Officer Henze. His response was: "yeah, I shot the m*****f***** and I'm still alive." Wilson was tried and convicted and sentenced to twenty-two years to life. During January 2007, he was incarcerated at the London Correctional Institute. He has a parole hearing scheduled during September 2011.
With nine violent deaths of police officers in less than eight years, the Cincinnati City Council commissioned a task force to study possible equipment changes to increase the safety of the officers. Subsequently, officers were issued ballistic vests, .357 revolvers, ballistic clip boards, five cell flashlights, and improved patrol vehicles. It would be almost eight years before another officer would be murdered.

Police Officer James (Gary) Weber P479
Age: 35
Served 8 years
September 8, 1974 to September 8, 1982
On September 8, 1982, at 11:35 p.m., at 2787 River Road, Officer Weber, of 5684 Biscayne, and Officer Charles Klug, of Delhi, were investigating a suspicious auto to which they had been dispatched. Stephen James, a thirty-five year old, highly intoxicated white male, of 344 Resor, was driving his Chevrolet Corvette at a high rate of speed inbound on River Road, striking the parked car which the officers were investigating, and catching the officers between his car and the parked car. The Corvette careened off the parked car, carrying Officer Weber with it, and into a utility pole. Officer Weber was killed instantly while Officer Klug suffered massive injuries including two nearly detached legs. Officer David Fow was the first car on the scene. Officer Weber was transported to University Hospital and he was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m. on the 9th.

Officer Weber left a wife and children. Officer Klug's injuries were such that he was retired and continues to occasionally require operations, 26 by January 2006, including his legs, back, neck and a complete knee replacement in 1997. He later came back to work as a Police Technician and retired again during 2005.

James was arrested by Officer Roger Smallwood of Traffic Section. He was charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, convicted, and sentence to 1½ years imprisonment.

Police Officer Clifford George P339
Age: 40
Served 15½ years
October 24, 1971 to April 16, 1987
On April 16, 1987, at 1:06 a.m., Police Officer Clifford George, of 11927 Belgreen Lane, Fairfield, Ohio, responded to 2249 Vine Street to see a complainant about her brother, Melvin Moreland, a thirty-three year old black male of Saint Louis, Missouri. Officer George spoke with Moreland and Moreland agreed to go with Officer George to the Greyhound Bus station and purchase a ticket to Dallas, Texas. However, at the street by the officer’s vehicle, Moreland began yelling. Officer George attempted to place Moreland in handcuffs. A struggle ensued and Officer George broadcast a request for assistance. Moreland, who also had a quantity of Cocaine in his system, gained control of Officer George’s duty weapon, a Smith & Wesson Model 65 .357 Magnum revolver, from his holster and shot him in the top of the shoulder. The bullet went down into Officer George’s chest and he fell to his knees mortally wounded. Moreland shot at witnesses twice, then went back to Officer George, picked him up by the collar of his shirt and shot him again in the back of the neck. Moreland then ran down Vine Street, then between two buildings at 2239 Vine Street into the rear yard and into a wooded area.
Police Officers Thomas Lind and Richard Newsom and Sergeant John Ott were the first on the scene. Officers Charles Beaver and Ralph Unger arrived and administered first aid. Sergeant Dale Bley directed officers to surround the wooded area and wait for canine to respond. Officer George was transported to University Hospital and pronounced dead by Dr. Crafton at 1:50 a.m.

Officer George left a wife, Barbara, a son, Jeff, and two daughters, Jennifer and Paige. Barbara George works at the Metropolitan Sewer District. Jennifer became a Cincinnati Police Officer during July 1998 and Jeff joined the United State Marine Corps. Soon after his death, the people of Fairfield honored Officer George, a well-known and well-liked coach, renamed baseball fields at 12089 Mill Road the “Clifford George Fields.”
Police Officers Gerald Norton and Steve Fromholt and Norton's canine partner, Bandit, searched and found Moreland, naked and still carrying Officer George's sidearm. The officers ordered him to drop the firearm. Instead, he raised the revolver toward the officers. Bandit lunged at Moreland. Moreland and Officer Norton fired revolvers and Fromholt fired a shotgun in what was described as a single volley of shotgun and small arms fire. In the exchange, Bandit and Moreland were killed. The shot that killed Bandit passed through and struck Officer Norton in the leg. Officer Norton was treated and released.

After Officer George's death, Cincinnati officers were issued 9mm semiautomatic pistols and security holsters. Semiautomatic pistols were found to be more easily disabled by an officer during a struggle for his firearm. The security holster makes it much more difficult to pull a firearm from an officer's holster. No Cincinnati officer has been killed with his own sidearm since.

Police Specialist Ronald Jeter PS121
Age: 34
Served: 4 years
February 7, 1993 to December 6, 1997
Police Officer Daniel Pope P256
Age: 35
Served: 6 years
September 15, 1991 to December 6, 1997
Just before midnight, on December 5, 1997, Specialist Ron Jeter and Officer Dan Pope searched for and found Alonzo Davenport, a 19 year old black male wanted for a felony Domestic Violence, at 23 West Hollister, a few blocks north of where the last slain Cincinnati officer, Cliff George, was killed ten years earlier. Davenport had concealed a revolver in the small of his back. While the officers were inside the residence, Davenport pulled the revolver and shot each officer once in the head, killing both instantly. He ran from the scene, saw other officers at Vine and McMillan Streets, and shot himself in the head, killing himself.

Specialist Jeter, a former United States Marine, left a mother, fiancé, and children.
Officer Pope left his father, a retired police officer, mother, and wife, Linda, a Cincinnati Fire Fighter.

Police Officer Kevin C. Crayon P347
Age: 40
Served 4 years 2 months
July 7, 1996 to September 1, 2000
On September 1, 2000, Police Officer Kevin Crayon found Courtney Mathis, a twelve year old black male getting in to drive a car in the UDF parking lot at Colerain Avenue and Kirby Road. Officer Crayon ordered him to stop. Instead, the youth backed the car toward some children and their mother in the parking lot. Officer Crayon ran to and reached into the car, apparently to stop its progress rearward motion. He was successful, but Mathis pulled forward and onto Colerain Avenue with the officer in tow. While being dragged, after traveling and accelerating some 800 feet, Officer Crayon shot Mathis and was released from the car. His momentum carried him to the undercarriage of a car stopped in traffic. The impact killed him instantly.

Officer Crayon, a United States Army veteran, left his mother, Barbara Crayon Allbright, three children, Kevin II, Christopher, and Brittany, and three brothers and a sister.

Mathis hit another car and continued onto his home where his family called for emergency medical response for the gunshot wound. He died of his wound a few hours later.