Police officers killed in the line of duty:
This file includes:
Dayton police killed since 1880:
Source: Dayton Police
- Police Officer Lee Lynam - 1880
- Sergeant Amos Keller - 1897
- Police Officer William Dalton - 1899
- Detective Charles V. Thomas - 1916
- Police Officer George V. Purcell - 1916
- Police Officer J.J. Stapleton - 1916
- Police Officer George Clark - 1923
- Police Officer William C. Horn - 9-18-1927
- Captain John C. Post - 9-24-1927
- Police Officer W.E. Rauch - 12-23-1927
- Police Officer William T. Wilson - 1928
- Sergeant Lucius J. Rice - 1939
- Police Officer Herman A. Drexler - 5-16-1947
- Police Officer Sherman E. Noland - 5-3-1947
- Police Officer Richard O. Baker - 1965
- Police Officer R.K. Wells - 1967
- Sergeant Paul E. Mortimer - 7-31-1970
- Police Officer James L. Mobley - 1-25-1970
- Police Officer Daniel L. Bruns - 1973
- Sergeant William K. Mortimer - 1974
- Police Officer Eddie L. Hobson - 1981
- Police Officer William Steve Whalen - 1991
- Jason Grossnickle -- 5-23-1996
Miami Valley law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty since 1969
source: DNI clippings
Dec. 30, 1969 -- Vandalia Police Lt. James Bohanan died in a shooting during a counterfeiting raid at a motel north of Dayton near I-75. He was shot accidentally by another law enforcement officer on the scene.
Nov. 27, 1970 -- Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Donald Perry, 32, died after he was mistakenly shot by another officer, who had fired a warning shot.
March 4, 1974 -- Dayton Police Sgt. William K. Mortimer, 43, was shot and killed while making an arrest.
May 22, 1975 -- Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Randall K. Richter, 23, was shot and killed on Grant Ave. in Harrison Twp.
Oct. 12, 1976 -- Butler Twp. Patrolman Jahn Schmidt was killed when he was struck by a car at a roadblock.
Oct. 11, 1981 -- Dayton Police Officer Eddie L. Hobson, 27, was killed when his cruiser struck a utility pole.
Feb. 16, 1983 -- West Carrollton Patrolman Fred Beard was hit by a truck and killed after a high-speed chase ended on I-75 in Moraine.
June 27, 1983 -- Springboro Patrolman William L. Johnson, 48, died after being struck by a pickup truck on Ohio 73.
Oct. 2, 1984 -- Riverside Patrolman Larry Safreed died in a traffic accident.
Feb. 25, 1987 -- Miami Co. Sheriff's deputy Robert Elliott was shot and killed at Stouder Memorial Hospital in Troy. He was shot with his own gun by a hospitalized prisoner, James L. Brown, 33, of Florida, who then escaped from the hospital. Brown was later killed in a shootout with a state trooper in Kentucky.
March 21, 1991 -- Dayton Police Officer Steve Whalen died in surgery at Miami Valley hospital after he was shot while investigating a shooting. Karl Vultee was sentenced to life in prison for the Whalen shooting.
May 23, 1996 -- Dayton Police Officer Jason Grossnickle was shot and killed in front of Third District headquarters. The assailant, Maurice Fareed, was shot and killed by other officers on the scene.
Jan. 12, 1998 -- Centerville Police officer John P. Kalaman and Washington Twp firefighter Robert J. O'Toole were killed when they were struck by a car while investigating an accident on an icy stretch of I-675. Kalaman was the first Centerville police officer to die in the line of duty.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers slain:
March 31, 1957 -- Officer Robert E. Karsmizki of the Bucyrus post was shot and killed by a felon fleeing another slaying.
Jan. 19, 1996 -- Trooper James Gross was shot and killed after stopping a motorist on I-71 near Ashland. Maxwell White Jr. was arrested a short time later and charged with aggravated murder.
Note: The Ohio Highway Patrol website (www.odn.ohio.gov/ohp/) includes a complete list of officers killed in the line of duty.http://www.odn.ohio.gov/ohp/File created: 1-23-96
Updated: 5-15-1997
Sources: DDN 10-2-84; 2-26-87; 1-20-96; Dayton Police