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Fallen Heroes - Baltimore Police History
Fallen Heroes

Fallen Heroes (191)

Fallen Heroes

Friday, 01 November 2019 10:57

Officer Henry Smith Jr.

Written by

 

On this day in Baltimore Police History 1962 we lost our brother Police Officer Henry Smith Jr. to gunfire based on the following:
from Sun paper news, 8 April 1962

Two Guarded in Patrolman Slaying Case - Wounded Men Hospital: Police Probe Street Shooting
Two wounded men remained under guard at University Hospital Yesterday as Police investigated the murder of then off-duty Central District Patrolman Henry Smith.
The slain officer, 35 year old Patrolman Henry Smith Jr was the father of five, a five year veteran of the force, was shot to death early 7 April 1962 outside a tavern in the 700 block West Lexington Street.
Police said bullets extracted from the patrolman and the two wounded men will be sent to the crime lab for ballistics examination.

The Service weapons of Officer Smith and the two officers that came to his aid have also been sent to the laboratory, for comparison according to police officials.

Officers believe Patrolman Smith may have been slain with his own weapon. His holster was empty and his revolver was found later in an areaway next to 702 West Fayette Street.  

ONE IN SERIOUS CONDITION

Plainclothes and uniform officers canvased the area throughout the day seeking possible witnesses to the slaying which occurred shortly before 2AM

Police said they have not been able to question the wounded men. One was a 30 year old resident of the 500 Blk. North Freemont Ave. he is listed in serious condition with gunshot wounds. The second 39 year old suspect lives in the 200 Blk. of North Freemont Ave. was shot about five times and was listed in satisfactory condition the hospital said.

Patrolman James Thompson, of the Western District said he was a block away when he heard reports from the gunfire.
Evidence at the scene, based on evidence at the scene police theorized, Officer Smith came up on a dice game outside the saloon and was shot to death when he went to break it up. This was believed because of a stack of bills, and a pair of dice found at the scene.

We his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department will not let him be forgotten – RIP Officer Henry Smith and God Bless - Your service "Honored" the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department"  

Follow-up - On 10 April 1962, Police had not found the gun used to kill their brother officer - Patrolman Henry Smith Jr. they had at first felt he may have been killed with his own department issue handgun, as his gun had been found after the shooting in the 700 Blk. of West Fayette Street, it had been emptied. Another officer had witnessed the two men standing over Patrolman Smith apparently emptying a gun into his body. That officer emptied his revolver into the two men.

 

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 700 block West Lexington St
City, St. 7 April, 1962
Panel Number 64-W: 7
Cause of Death Gunfire
District Worked Central

 

Friday, 01 November 2019 10:53

Sergeant Joseph F Smyth

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Sergeant Joseph F Smyth

On this day in Baltimore Police History 16 September 1911 we lost our Brother Sergeant Joseph F Smyth in the line of duty to heart failure based on the following Baltimore Sun newspaper article dated 17 Sept 1911

One of the Most Popular Men in the Police Department Fell Dead

Serge. Joseph F. Smyth, of. the Central District, one of the most popular men in the Police Department, fell dead a few minutes after 10 o'clock last night (16 Sep 1911) on Lombard street, near Charles. Leaving the Lombard bowling alleys, where he had seen a number of young men rolling ten pins, the sergeant remarked to Patrolman Poske, who was with him: "Poske, those young fellows are having a good time." Were the last words that left his lips the sergeant collapsed and staggered to the pavement. "What's the matter, Sarge," asked Poske. He received no answer. Poske tried. to lift him to his feet, but Smyth could not rise.

Reaches Hospital Too Late

Hurrying to the nearest patrol box. Poske sent for the Central district ambulance. fellow-policemen lifted the sergeant into the patrol wagon and in a few minutes, he was at Mercy Hospital. Not until the body was put on an operating table was it found the Sergeant was dead. It seemed to Poske that "Joe," as Smyth was affectionately known to every policeman in the city, was only ill. Lieutenant Klinefelter heard the sergeant was ill and hurried to the hospital, but when he met Dr. Aubrey Lawson, the latter conveyed the story with one word "Dead." Big policemen, used to the world's weal and woe, gathered at the table on which lay the uniformed sergeant, tears formed in their eyes. Poske, known practically to everyone who frequents the downtown section after dark, wept in was deep sadness at his very threshold for the loss of his Sergeant and friend Sergeant Joseph F Smyth.

Four Cousins In The Priesthood

Sergeant Smyth was a member of a well-known family and four of his cousins, All of whom are brothers, are priests. They are Rev. Thomas G. Smyth, pastor of St. Ann's Church, Tensly, D. C.; Rev. James' A. Smyth, assistant pastor of St. Patrick's Church. Washington; Rey. C. Carroll Smyth, assistant pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Baltimore, and Rev. Tobu Carter Smyth. a member of the Paulist Order. who Is in New York. Another cousin, a brother of the four priests, is Patrolman William H. Smyth. Tr. The sergeant was only 34 years old. He was appointed to the force August 17, 1901. On. May. 1910, he was promoted to a sergeant. His promotion was the result only of a meritorious record. He was loved and esteemed by every policeman who worked under him.

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 16 September 1911
City, St. Lombard street, near Charles 21223
Panel Number N/A
Cause of Death Heart Attack
District Worked Central
Friday, 01 November 2019 10:44

Officer Milton Spell

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Officer Milton Spell

On the night of August 15, 1974, in the 1600 block of North Bradford Street just before 9:30 p.m., Officer Milton Spell parked his car to begin foot patrol. Officer Spell’s attention was drawn to a vehicle that was weaving side to side traveling in the same block. Feeling that the driver may be intoxicated, he notified the dispatcher that he was attempting to stop the vehicle to investigate the driver. Following normal procedures, he requested a backup unit and continued to approach the vehicle. Moments before the backup unit arrived, while Officer Spell was speaking to the driver, shots rang out from inside the suspect’s vehicle, striking Officer Spell. Officer Spell fell to the street with chest and abdomen wounds. The suspect and a companion fled the scene. Officer Louis W. Michelberger was a little more than a block away when he heard the shots fired. He arrived to find more than 200 people standing near the fallen officer. Officer Michelberger attempted to save Officer Spell’s life using CPR. Officer Spell was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he died, undergoing emergency treatment. Officer Spell was a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1967, he was 27 years old at the time of his death.

Devider

Slaying Suspect Arrested

Aug 17, 1974


The Sun (1837-1987); pg. B1

Slaying Suspect Arrested
Man – 32 – Held In Killing City Policeman

Police arrested a 32-year-old West Baltimore man yesterday for the slaying of the police officer who was shot while on duty Thursday night. Police at Avon Mason Simmons – of 1700 block of Mosher Street, was charged with homicide in the arrest warrant and taken into custody by two plainclothes officers without incident at 2:24 PM yesterday at Calhoun and Lafayette streets. Also charge last night was Josepha Marie Herring – 26 of the 2100 block of Park Avenue who police allege jumped into the assailant’s car after the shooting. She was charged with being an accessory after the fact. The slain officer, Milton Spell, of the Eastern district had been on routine patrol at 9:30 PM in his police cruiser when he pulled up behind a parked car he believed had been operated by a drunk driver in the 1600 block of N. Bradford St Police said officer Spell asked the driver for his license and registration and was shot once in the chest and once in the abdomen by the occupant of the car. The driver then drove away. Officer Spell died minutes later on the emergency room operating table at Johns Hopkins hospital. Police said the officer’s gun was still in its holster one backup policeman rushed to his aid. The car, which had been stolen a short time before the shooting, according to police, was recovered late Thursday night. Police did not disclose a motive for the slaying of the officer. There was another man with Mr. Simmons at the time of his arrest, according to police. He was being questioned last night by homicide detectives, but had not been charged with a crime. “I didn’t think too much of him wanting to be a police men,” said Richard Spell, the dead officer’s father. “I knew somebody had to do it, and yes I thought that someday something like this would happen,” added Mr. Spell, a 54-year-old assembler at General Motors. The officer lived with his father and three-year-old son. Milton S. Spell in 1800 block of W. Lanvale St.

 

3 Tours in Vietnam

According to his mother Claudia Spell, 44, of the 800 block of George Street. Officer Spell enlisted in the Army at 17 and served three tours in Vietnam in a special forces engineering detachment.
According to family members, he was studying the violin and wanted eventually to pursue a career in music. “No mother really has a craving for her son to join the police force, but he wanted to do it and there was no way I could change his mind.” Mrs. Spell said yesterday. “I was always afraid that something might happen. But he’d said “mock stop worried about me, I’ll be all right” She added that he used to play his violin for her and in church. Neighbor said he was helpful as a child and would run errands for persons unable to do so themselves. His estranged wife, Carol 26 lived with their two daughters, Tonya, three and Michelle, six in Platteville Alabama. They were due to arrive in Baltimore last night. His mother said, “He said to me last week; whenever I achieve what I want to, I’m going to have you write here with me.”


Pomerleau Asks Study of Bullet Proof Vests

Donald D. Pomerleau, the police Commissioner, yesterday ordered a study of the feasibility of providing officers with lightweight, synthetic, bulletproof vests.
The action came in the wake of the shooting death of Officer Milton Spell, who was felled by a bullet in the heart. The other two city officers slain this year – Sgt. Frank W Grunder, Junior. And Officer Frank Whitby – also died from chest wounds. A police spokesman said the Commissioner had been looking at the possibility of bullet proof vest for some time, and yesterday ordered the planning and research division to make a “comprehensive study” of the cost and feasibility of such a program.


Devider
City to Get Bullet-Proof Police Vests

Jun 5, 1975

RICHARD BEN CRAMER
The Sun (1837-1987); pg. C1

The city government authorized a $288,379 expenditure yesterday for more than 3,000 bullet-proof vests for Baltimore's police officers. The unanimous vote by the Board of Estimates, approving a $250,000 federal grant and adding more than $20,000 in city funds, marked the final step in the campaign begun by Donald D. Pomerleau, the police commissioner, after four policemen were shot fatally last year. All of Baltimore's officers will be ·issued the nylon-substance flexible vests and covering garments. Experts employed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police reportedly consider the type of armor sought for Baltimore's police the best protection available.

The vests, about 1 ¼ inches thick and weighing about 1 ¼ pounds each, are designed to protect an officer's heart, chest, stomach and kidney areas. Tests showed. The 12 layers of nylon substance, called Kevlar, can stop a .38-calibre slug I fired at point-blank range toward an officer's body. The major Innovation of the Kevlar vest according to Police Department experts, is the diffusion of the shock caused by the impact of the bullet. Other types or body armor, they say, will stop the bullet but will not diminish the shock from its collision with a body. The Kevlar vest ls designed to spread the shock laterally so that bullet Impact is less likely to cause Internal injuries.

C. Edward Hawkins, chief of the Protective Engineering Group at the Edgewood Arsenal told reporters earlier this year that a full-grown man wielding a sharp knife could not cut through all 12 layers of Kevlar which make up the vest.Kevlar yarn is twice as strong as steel wire of the same weight. City officials said yesterday they expect the vests to be ready for police use later this year. 0nly other city, San Francisco, has its Police Department fully outfitted with the bullet-proof armor. Mr. Pomerleau accelerated the department study of body armor last August, after Milton I. Spell became the third police man to die of gunshot wounds in1974, A fourth policeman, Martin J. Greiner, 25, died In December of two gunshot wounds in the abdomen.

In other Board of Estimates action yesterday, the ARA food services! Corporation lost a million-dollar contract to provide summer lunches for impoverished Baltimore children. The board awarded the contract to Marlin's, Inc., the food service which runs Martin's West and other banquet halls. The Marlin's firm, which submitted an original bid $80,000higher than ARA's for the 1.5 million box lunches this summer, successfully argued that the exceptions ARA made in its proposal violated the city’s specifications. After more than an hour of convoluted argument at the close of yesterday's session, the five members of the board voted unanimously to' take the contract away from ARA despite its lower bid. The two problems with ARA's bid cited were the lack of a minority contractor to participate in the venture and a clause which would have allowed ARA to pull out of the contract unilaterally with no recourse for the city. Both the ARA and Martin's bids were below the subsidy level offered by the federal government. Mayor Schaefer praised both contractors, claiming that both performed excellently on previous contracts. His difficulty in choosing between them exceedingly his impatience at the international hearings on the subject. “This food program,” he remarked wryly, “is becoming distasteful.”

Devider

Court upholds conviction in '74 police slaying

Aug 25, 1976

ROBERT P WADE
The Sun (1837-1987); pg. D3

Court upholds conviction in '74 police slaying

Annapolis- The conviction of 31-year-old Baltimore man for the 1974 slaying of city police Officer Milton Spell was upheld yesterday by the state Court of special Appeals. Athree-Judge panel also affirmed convictions against Hardy Herring for armed robbery and illegal use of a handgun. The courts decision contained a six page opinion leaves intact a life prison sentence plus 25 years for the armed robbery and gun charges imposed by Judge James A. Wise of the Caroline county circuit. 'The case was transferred there from Baltimore City Criminal Court

Herring is now an inmate of the Maryland. Penitentiary
Officer ·Spell was shot to death August 15, 1974, during a routine check for "a possible DWI”" as he told police communications over his walkie talkie just moments before being murdered. A "DWI" is a drunk driver.

The 28-year·old officer had been playing with a group of neighborhood children just before walking over to the car Herring was driving The officer was shot twice and fell to the ground without pulling his revolver from his holster.

Herring was convicted of first-degree murder," and of stealing the car, some cash, and a Masons ring… agreed to talk only after being given assurances he would not be incarcerated at the City Jail fearing reprisalsfor activities as a police informer. But Howard Gersh, an assistant state's attorney, told the trial court that his decision not to lock the man in the jail had nothing to do with Herring's willingness to talk, but was based instead on a belief Herring's fears may have been wen founded.

The court rejected that line of reasoning, as well as an argument by Mr. Buchman that Herring's act could not have been willful or premeditated because Herring was drunk.

 

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 15 August, 1974
City, St. Baltimore, Md
Panel Number 17-E: 2
Cause of Death Gunfire
District Worked Eastern
 
 
 
 
 
Friday, 01 November 2019 10:33

Officer John H. Spencer

Written by

 

Officer John H. Spencer

2 March 1979

Policeman found Shot Dead near Car

The Sun (1837-1989); Mar 3, 1979; pg. B1

An off-duty Northwestern district policeman was found shot to death beside his parked car at Pennsylvania Avenue in school Street last night, homicide investigators reported.

The officer, identified as John H. Spencer, 40 years old, a 15 year veteran of the Police Department, was pronounced dead on arrival at Provident hospital shortly after 10 PM.

Officer Spencer was wearing civilian clothes. He had been shot once in the chest, according to Dennis S. Hill, the Police Department’s chief spokesman. The dead policeman’s badge and gun missing, Mr. Hill said.

Policeman are required to carry their service revolvers for use in emergencies, even when they are off-duty, according to the detectives on the case.

Colleagues at the Northwestern said early this morning that Officer Spencer was married and had two children.

The sling was discovered after a resident of a house nearby heard a single gunshot and fellow police. Detectives did not identify the caller and would not even say it was a man or woman.

No witnesses to the shooting had been found early today, according to Mr. Hill.

The motive for the shooting was not known, he said, nor wasn’t known if Officer Spencer, although not on duty, was following up on a case he’d been investigating earlier.

 

Devider

 

2 arrested in slaying of off-duty policeman

Mar 4, 1979

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. B8

City police last night arrested a 23-year-old man and a teenager salt in the slaying of police officer John H. Spencer, 40, who was shot to death in an apparent robbery while off duty Friday night.

Acting on anonymous tip, seven homicide detectives and two uniformed officers went to an apartment in the first block S. Exeter St., “kicked in the door and caught [the suspects] by surprise,” said Dennis S. Hill, the police department spokesman. He said the raid occurred on the seventh floor of a high-rise apartment building.

Arrested and charged with murder last night were Joseph Lee Roy L Wood, 23, of the 500 block of gold Street, and Cedric Eugene Scott, 17, of the 2100 Block Ettings St., police said.

Neither suspect resisted arresting officers, and police found no firearms in the apartment, Mr. Hill said. He was unable to say in whose name the apartment was rented.

The men were held last night at Western district lockup pending a bail hearing today, detectives said.

Mr. Hill said the location of the suspects was learned “through a continuous investigation,” since the slaying Friday night and “an anonymous phone call” to detectives late yesterday afternoon.

Recovery of the slain officer’s badge which had been stolen along with his 38 caliber service revolver, yesterday morning was a great help to the investigation, leading to the issuance of arrest warrants for the two suspects, Mr. Hill said.

The warrant naming Mr. Allen’s listed his address as the same property were a child reported finding the badge yesterday, he said. The child, who was not identified, discovered the badge “in the grass” outside the apartment building in the 500 Block Gold St., he said.

Officer Spencer had been wearing civilian clothes when accosted by two persons at Pennsylvania Avenue and School St., Friday night, police reports said. The 15 year Police Department veteran, assigned to the Northwestern district, was found dead beside his car after a neighbor called police about gunshots in the vicinity, the reports said.

Mr. Hill said the officer’s home address would not be made public, but added that he did not live in the area where the shooting occurred.

Please had no details about why officer Spencer had been in the neighborhood, and Mr. Hill was unable to save the officer had been following up an earlier police case.

The officer was pronounced dead on arrival at Provident hospital shortly after 10 PM Friday. Police said he received a gunshot wound to the chest.

Mr. Hill said robbery was the likely motive for the killing. He declined to elaborate on the evidence detectives collected that led them to issue the two arrest warrants.

 

Devider

 

Slain in Apparent Robbery

Mar 5, 1979

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. A8

Funeral services for Officer John H Spencer, Sr., of the Northwestern district operation unit, will be held at 10:30 AM tomorrow at St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church, Walbrook Avenue and Ellamont streets

Officer Spencer was slain while off duty Friday during an apparent robbery at Pennsylvania Avenue at school Street. Two suspects were charged with homicide last night.

Officer Spencer was 40 and lived in Randallstown.

A colleague, Lieut. Bessie Norris, of the Northwestern district, said yesterday that Throughout officer Spencer’s nine years with the district operation section, his specialty has been working with youngsters.

On his own time, Lieut. Norris said, Officer Spencer worked with children at the Towanda recreation center at Park Heights Avenue and Garrison Boulevard, and earned their respect.

In summer, he also recruited young people for Little League and recreation programs and also to them to the police boy’s club summer camp.

Aside from his interest in people, the Lieut. said, officer Spencer was a dedicated professional who was assigned to special crime-prevention patrols in high-crime areas.

Those areas included the Park Heights Avenue corridor from Garrison South to Virginia Avenue, as well as the area around liberty Heights and Gwynn Oak Avenue.

Lieut. Norris said her colleague was “a quiet guy who never flew off at the mouth,” and that this quality was reflected in his personnel file, which contained no citizen complaints it is 15 years of service in the district and on a narcotic and by squads.

She said Officer Spencer had been urged to study for the sergeants and lieutenants but always rebuffed those suggestions, saying, “There is a place for everybody, my place is as a patrolman.”

His supervisor said she felt officer Spencer may have had a premonition about “his time,” since only Friday had he introduced his mother to people on his post for the first time. Recently he also had gotten some of his things “in the shape,” Lieut. Norris said, “Because I think John somehow knew he was going.”

Also Spencer was born here and was a 1956 graduate of St. John’s College, a military high school, in Washington. He had been a worker at boy’s village in Cheltenham, Maryland. A post-office worker and a merchant seaman before becoming a police officer.

He was a member of the police organization and of St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church.

Supervisors include his wife, the former Nancy Burke, three sons, Scott H. Spencer, Brian S. Spencer and John H. Spencer, Junior., All of Randallstown; his mother, Freda Spencer, of Randallstown, and his father, John T. Spencer, of Glen Burnie.

 

Devider

2 Men to be Tried for Murder

Jul 19, 1979

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. C2

Judge Mary Arabian cleared the way yesterday for the trial of two men charged with the murder of an off-duty policeman, ruling that a police service revolver was properly seized in a raid on the Exeter Street apartment.

Today, Cedric E. Scott, 17, of the 2100 block of Etting Street, and Joseph L. I went, 23, of the 500 Block Gold St., will face trial on murder and robbery charges in the death of officer John H. Spencer, of the Northwestern district.

Officer Spencer, 40, died to March 1979, after he was shot once in the chest as he was about to enter his private car parked in the 600 block of school Street near Pennsylvania Avenue. He was off duty at the time.

According to arguments by Richard Karceski and Thomas E. Klug, defense lawyers, police in properly searched the Exeter Street apartment, where neither of the defendants lived, a day after the shooting occurred.

However, Judge Arabian agreed with Leslie a Stein, an assistant state’s attorney, the police had obtained a proper warrant for the search of the apartment after a group of seven persons had been taken in the custody.

 

Devider

 Murder Weapon Identified at Trial in Death of Off-Duty Policeman

Jul 24, 1979

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. C3

A 38 caliber police service revolver was identified yesterday in criminal court as the weapon which killed Officer John H. Spencer, an off-duty policeman who was shot to March 1979 in a 600 block of school Street.

The identification of the weapon, which belonged Officer Spencer, was the last testimony offered by the prosecution in the murder trial of John L. Owens , 23 of the 500 block of gold Street, and Cedric E. Scott, 19, 2100 block of Etting Street.

Both defendants are charged with killing officer Scott after robbing him of his gun, and two wallets [badge wallet/money wallet] it as he fumbled for the keys to his car which was parked on school Street.

Today, lawyers for Mr. Owens and Mr. Scott in a jury trial before Judge Mary Arabian will open their defense to the charges.

Before closing his case, Leslie A. Stein, an assistant state’s attorney, told the jury that the defense had stipulated to the testimony of the ballistics expert which showed also Spencer was killed by a bullet from his own gun.

A witness, Ralph will it, testified he saw Mr. Owens fire several shots from officer Spencer’s gone after he wants Mr. Owens and Mr. Scott yoke the policeman near the front door of his car.

However, Mr. Allen said in a statement given to police that Mr. Scott found the policeman service revolver after knocking him to the ground and searching them. Mr. Scott in his statement said that Mr. Owens had the gun.

Despite the conflict in testimony, JoAnn Chester, who lives on school Street, testified both Mr. Owens and Mr. Scott were visiting her when they saw officer Spencer staggered to his car in a way they felt showed he had been drinking.

Mr. Chester said she recalled telling the two defendants: “don’t you mess with that man.” Mr. Owens and Mr. Scott left her house, the witness said, and then see heard a noise “that sounded like three or four firecrackers.”

Mr. Willett, who also was visiting Mr. Chester, said he saw both defendants grabbed Officer Spencer and throw him to the ground. The witness said Mr. Owens stood up with the gun and said: “this is my lucky day.”

One shot was fired by Mr. Owens into the air and then he left the revolver and fired Officer Spencer, who had gotten up off the ground, Mr. Willett said.

Police arrested the defendant’s the next day after obtaining information they were at a seventh – floor apartment of a high – rise building in the first block of S. Exeter St.

Detectives testified that a search of the apartment disclosed officer Spencer’s revolver in a paper bag in a drawer of the coffee table in that department.

One of Officer Spencer’s Wallace was found in a similar at Golden Etting streets. His badge was handed to another policeman by a young boy who said he found it in the area was unable to say where, testimony disclosed.

 

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Two guilty in murder of policeman

Jul 25, 1979

THEODORE W HENDRICKS

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. C1

Two men were found guilty last night of what a prosecutor called a “senseless and stupid” murder of an off-duty policeman who was attempting to get into his car to March 1979, in the 600 block of school Street.

Convicted of felony murder charges in the death of Officer John H. Spencer, 44, were Joseph Lee Roy Owens, 23, and Cedric Eugene Scott, now 19.

Held on $260,000 bail of peace, they face sentences of life imprisonment. A jury under Judge Mary Arabian deliberated for six hours before handing down the verdict.

Leslie A. Stein, an assistant state’s attorney, had argued to the jury that the shooting was senseless and stupid because the policeman apparently could not identify those who accosted him. Mr. Stein pointed out that Officer Spencer had been staggering as he approached his car and one witness said he appeared to have been drinking.

Also Spencer was shot once through the heart with his .38 caliber service revolver, which the witness said Owens took from him after knocking him to the street.

According to evidence in the week long trial, Owens and Scott had seen Officer Spencer as a left the house they were visiting in the 600 block of school Street.

A witness, JoAnn Chester, who lived at the school Street address, testified she told Ellen’s and Scott as they left;

“Don’t mess with that man.”

Another witness, wealth Willett, testified that he saw one search the policeman after he was knocked down and took his wallet and service revolver.

Mr. Willett quoted Owens as saying, “this is my lucky day,” after he found the revolver, the witness said Owens fired once in the air and fired again at Officer Spencer.

The next day police raided an apartment in the first block of S. Exeter St. and arrested Ellen’s and Scott, who were attending a party there.

A search of the apartment turned up Officer Spencer’s service revolver in the door of a coffee table in the living room.

During the trial neither Owens nor Scott took the stand in their own defense. They were represented by Richard Karceski and Thomas E. Klug.

However, Owens gave a statement to detectives in which he tried to explain that Scott was the man who took the pistol from the prone policeman. However, Scott gave a statement blaming Owens for the shooting.

Police recovered a while it taken from Officer Spencer, a 15 year veteran of the police force, in sewer at Etting and Gold streets.

Officer Spencer’s badge was handed to a patrolman by 15-year-old boy in the 1300 block W. North Ave. The boy was unable to say where he found the badge.

 

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Man gets life in slaying of policeman

Sep 6, 1979

THEODORE W HENDRICKS

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. C20

Joseph L. Ellen was sentenced to life imprisonment +15 years yesterday for the felony murder of an off-duty policeman who was shot with his own service revolver as he was making fumbling attempts while intoxicated to get into his car.

A co-defendant, Cedric Eugene Scott was also sentenced to life imprisonment but an additional 15 year sentence in his case was not made to run concurrent with a life term.

Judge Mary Arabian, in criminal court, common that evidence showed the victim, officer John H. Spencer, 44, was “vulnerable and apparently helpless” at the time he was shot because he had been drinking.

Both defendants were convicted 24 July, for the fatal shooting of the 15 year veteran policeman, which occurred to March 1979 in the 600 block of school Street, officer Spencer was shot once in the chest with his own 38 caliber service revolver.

Owens, 23, of the 500 block of Gold Street, was identified as the gunman during the trial of the case. Owens and Scott, now 19, of the 2100 block of Etting Street, had just left the house in the 600 block of school Street when they saw the policeman trying to get into his private car.

After also Spencer was knocked down and searched they the two defendants, Ellen is found the policeman’s service revolver and while it, a witness said Ellen’s shouted out, “this is my lucky day,” the witness, Ralph will it, said.

I once fired once in the air and then fired again at Officer Spencer, evidence showed.

 

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2 imprisoned for killing policeman lose effort to overturn convictions

Jun 5, 1981

The Sun (1837-1989); ; pg. C3

Annapolis – two men, convicted of killing an off-duty Baltimore city police officer during a robbery, yesterday lost in their efforts to have their convictions overturned.

The court of special appeals found no error in the trial of Lewis L. I went, 25 and Cedric E. Scott, now 21 that would justify sending the case back for a new trial. Both men are serving lifetime terms in prison

According to court records, the two men were about to enter the school Street apartment of a friend in March, 1979 when they saw officer John H. Spencer, 44, trying to unlock the door of his car.

Officer Spencer “was very drunk, and it looked it,” the appeals court observed, the two men “immediately decided to… .. Rob him.”

According to eyewitness testimony, Owens threw Officer Spencer to the ground and kicked him... Both then once found the officer’s revolver and exclaimed, “This is my lucky day.”

The men fire the gun twice in the air before sending two shots toward the officer, according to a witness.

Owens and Scott were arrested within 24 hours of the crime. Each man admitted participation in the robbery but blamed is companion for the murder.

On appeal, defense lawyers argued that the convictions should be overturned in part because the confessions by the two men should not have been used in a joint trial.

Referring to some Supreme Court decisions, the court of special appeals said the defense lawyers to write about the use of the confessions. But an opinion written by Judge H. Daniel, the appeals court said that the error was not serious enough to warrant throwing out the convictions.

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Again please contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll if you have pictures of you, your family, or other members of the Baltimore Police Department and wish to see them remembered here on this tribute site. We are anxious to honor the fine men and women who have served this fine police department. Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll can be reached at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Like us on Facebook, or contact us for a mailing address 

Copyright © 2002 Baltimore City Police History - Ret Det Kenny Driscoll

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 2 March, 1979
City, St. 600 School St
Panel Number N/A
Cause of Death Gunfire
Weapon - Officer's Handgun
District Worked Northwestern

 

25 Dec 1905 - Patrolman CHARLES SPITZNAGLE, of the Northeastern District, was paralyzed yesterday afternoon while patrolling his post and died last night at St. Joseph's Hospital without regaining consciousness. He was walking along Central avenue, near Fairmount Avenue, when taken ill and was hurriedly taken to the hospital In the Northeastern district patrol wagon. Patrolman Spitznagle was appointed to the force on January 1, 1893. He lived at 2312 East Fayette Street and leaves a Family

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NameDescription
End of Watch 25 Dec 1905
City, St. Fairmount Avenue
Panel Number N/A
Cause of Death LOD Illness
District Worked Northeastern

 

JOHN A STAPF
62-E: 5
End of Watch: November 2, 1934
Baltimore City, Maryland, P.D.

On this day in Baltimore Police History 1934, we lost our brother Police Officer John A. Stapf to a trolley accident based on the following;

Having completed his tour of duty, and waiting at the North Ave. call box over the Western Maryland Railway Bridge with his side partners Officer John Schmidt, and Edward Burns the awaited their reliefs. Once the other’s arrived, the trio parted ways;

Their trolley had pulled up and was standing as Schmidt, and Burns boarded same. Patrolman Stapf, rounded their trolley in an attempt to ready himself for the boarding of his westbound trolley, (Officer Staph lived at 5102 Elmer Avenue.) In his haste to get home to his family he quickly rounded their trolley and crossed over and onto the westbound trolley’s tracks where he was struck by said trolley. He was hit so hard that he was thrown into the air, and back into the of the eastbound trolley where he landed close to his partners Schmidt and Burns who later reported to the Department that Stapf’s injuries we so bad, his chances for survival were grim; still he was transported to West Baltimore General Hospital where he died due to a severe skull fracture.

Officer John A Staff, was 63 years old at the time of his death; he had served as the citizens of Baltimore for nearly 34 years, receiving numerous awards, commendations and citations. He was survived by his wife Katherine and sons George, William, John and Garland along with his daughters Lillian, Margaret, and Florence.

As his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department we will not let him be forgotten, His service Honored the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department may he rest in peace, and may God bless him.

 

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 2 November, 1934
City, St. North Ave
Panel Number 62-E: 5
Cause of Death Auto Accident
District Worked Northwestern

 

 

Friday, 01 November 2019 10:26

Officer Thomas F Stienacker

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On this day In Baltimore Police History 1932 we lost our brother Officer Thomas F Stienacker to an auto accident based on the following.
On September 29, 1932 at 9:50 a.m., Officer Stienacker was crossing the intersection of Frederick Avenue and Willard Street. A motorist struck Officer Steinacker as he crossed Frederick Avenue. As a result, he was thrown against a United Railway and Electric Company street car. He suffered a fractured skull, lacerated head and ear. He succumbed to his injuries on October 4, 1932.

As his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department we will not let him be forgotten, His service Honored the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department may he rest in peace, and may God bless him.

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 29, September, 1932
City, St. Frederick Avenue and Willard St
Panel Number 16-W: 14
Cause of Death Auto Accident
District Worked Southwestern
Friday, 01 November 2019 10:22

Detective Brian Stevenson

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 Detective Brian Stevenson

2010 - 16 Oct, 2010 we lost brother police Detective Brian Stevenson, off duty, and not line of duty, but he was our brother and he was murdered based on the following: 

A 25-year-old Southeast Baltimore man has been charged with fatally injuring an off-duty Baltimore police detective by throwing a piece of concrete at the officer's head during an argument over a Canton parking space, according to police. Detective Brian Stevenson, an 18-year veteran and married father of three, had gone out to have dinner on the eve of his birthday when he and Sian James got into an altercation in a private parking lot in the 2800 block of Hudson St. about 10 p.m. Saturday, police said. James was charged Sunday with first-degree murder.

James struck Stevenson in the left temple with a "fist-sized" concrete fragment, according to court records. Stevenson suffered "massive head injuries" and was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he died about an hour before he was to have turned 38.

Colleagues who investigate violent crime in the city — much of it over petty disputes and perceived slights — were struggling to cope with Stevenson's death and were baffled by the circumstances.

"All of them are terrible," Detective Thomas Jackson said of the city's killings. "But a parking space?" Stevenson, who lived in Gwynn Oak, grew up in the city and as an officer investigated shootings and robberies in the Northeast District. He is the first city officer to die at the hands of another since Jan. 9, 2007, when Officer Troy Lamont Chesley Sr. was fatally shot during a robbery while he was off duty in Northwest Baltimore.

Rest In Peace to all of our brothers and sister in the BPD that have lost their lives to the senseless violence of this city. They will not be forgotten, as we their brothers and sisters will keep them in our memories  Detective Brian Stevenson - 16 October, 2010 - Police: Man killed off-duty officer over parking space - 18-year veteran struck in the head with concrete object - October 17, 2010|By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

A 25-year-old Southeast Baltimore man has been charged with fatally injuring an off-duty Baltimore police detective by throwing a piece of concrete at the officer's head during an argument over a Canton parking space, according to police.

Detective Brian Stevenson, an 18-year veteran and married father of three, had gone out to have dinner on the eve of his birthday when he and Sian James got into an altercation in a private parking lot in the 2800 block of Hudson St. about 10 p.m. Saturday, police said. James was charged Sunday with first-degree murder.

James struck Stevenson in the left temple with a "fist-sized" concrete fragment, according to court records. Stevenson suffered "massive head injuries" and was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he died about an hour before he was to have turned 38.

Colleagues who investigate violent crime in the city — much of it over petty disputes and perceived slights — were struggling to cope with Stevenson's death and were baffled by the circumstances.

"All of them are terrible," Detective Thomas Jackson said of the city's killings. "But a parking space?"

Stevenson, who lived in Gwynn Oak, grew up in the city and as an officer investigated shootings and robberies in the Northeast District. He is the first city officer to die at the hands of another since Jan. 9, 2007, when Officer Troy Lamont Chesley Sr. was fatally shot during a robbery while he was off duty in Northwest Baltimore.

"It's an incredible tragedy for the family, for all of us," Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said outside the hospital, where he and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake met Stevenson's relatives. "The city's losing a fantastic detective who worked to make people safe in this city. It's just senseless."

Stevenson was out having dinner with a longtime friend near Canton Square, and the argument broke out in the parking lot of an eye care clinic. Residents said the neighborhood is typically packed, with some area bars offering valet service and drivers jockeying for parking spots.

Acting on information from witnesses, James was tracked down by officers at a club in Power Plant Live and taken into custody. He was formally charged Sunday afternoon.

Friends recalled Stevenson as a jovial man who was one of the department's snappiest and most distinctive dressers, pairing wild colors and patterns. Jackson, a homicide investigator who worked with Stevenson in the Northeast District, said Stevenson was called "Smiley" because of his consistently upbeat mood.

As a detective, Jackson said, the Baltimore native was able to relate to those he interacted with in the streets. Stevenson graduated from Dunbar High School, Jackson said.

"He loved doing his job, and he made sure his family was provided for," said Detective Sandra Forsythe, who continued to bring baked goods to her former partner after she moved on to the homicide unit this year.

"Brian devoted his life to protecting the people of Baltimore. Like his brothers and sisters in uniform, he deserves our respect and admiration for that commitment," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "To honor his life, I hope that the people of this city follow his example and renew their commitment to making every community safer."‪

At the scene Saturday night, neighbor Tricia Zebron said that the neighborhood, between the Can Company shopping center and Canton Square, is typically chaotic on weekends. She said parking spots are hard to come by — her car was parked in the same lot where Stevenson was struck, though there are "private parking" signs posted warning that unauthorized vehicles will be towed.

"It's a circus every weekend here," she said.

But it's also among the safest neighborhoods in the city. Stevenson was the first person slain in area near the Canton- Fells Point waterfront this year.

Walter J. Ford, a 76-year-old retired brewery worker who has lived in Canton all of his life, said he was surprised to hear of a killing in the neighborhood.

"I'm really shocked for this area," said Ford. "Very seldom do we get anyone killed. There might be a purse- snatching or something. Canton's usually very fortunate."

The suspect, James, lived around the corner in the 2800 block of Dillon St. Court records show he was charged in July with attempted rape, third-degree sex offense, assault and false imprisonment. Initially held without bond, he was released in mid-September on $150,000 bond.

Details of that case were not immediately available, and his attorney of record, John Denholm, could not be reached for comment.

Records also show that in late July, James was ordered to stay away from a woman who had filed her second protective order against him in a span of four months. Reached for comment, a man who answered the woman's phone said that they could not discuss James because of an "ongoing situation."

No one answered the door at James' home late Sunday afternoon. Neighbors sitting on their front steps said James lived there with a roommate and drove a motorcycle. He seemed friendly, they said, waving hello as he came and went. Other neighbors recalled getting a knock on their door from a city police detective back in July, asking if they had seen James, saying there was a warrant for his arrest. Still, neighbors said, they never saw or heard any violent behavior.

On his Facebook page, James said he attended college in Jamaica, and he often posted updates praising God.

"People always get the wrong impression of me. Then it turns arround [sic] that [I] am a realy [sic] nice guy," he wrote on the "bio" section of his page.

Dozens of officers in uniform or street clothes stood solemnly outside the emergency room entrance at Bayview Medical Center on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. There was little discussion as relatives of Stevenson continued to arrive deep into the morning.

As one group of officers walked to their cars to head home, they each shook hands and embraced.

"Be safe," they said to each other.

Stevenson was the second active-duty Baltimore police officer to die in the past month. In September, Officer James Fowler died after losing control of his vehicle while driving to a training program in Pennsylvania.

By Sunday evening, someone had planted the beginnings of a memorial to Stevenson in the parking lot where he fell. Two small balloons — one sporting an American flag, the other reading "Happy Birthday" — were bound together with a single white rose and placed in a pot. The unsigned card read: "Rest in Peace Detective Brian Stevenson."

Baltimore Sun reporter Nicole Fuller contributed to this article.

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Baltimore police detective funeral today

Motorists should expect delays in Randallstown, Arbutus

October 25, 2010|By Liz Kay, The Baltimore Sun

At a funeral this morning, family and friends will remember the life of a Baltimore police detective who died after an altercation over a Canton parking space.

Detective Brian Stevenson, who served 18 years on the Baltimore police force, was killed Oct. 16, an hour before his 38th birthday, after police said he was struck on the temple with a chunk of concrete.

Stevenson, who lived in Gwynn Oak, grew up in the city and as an officer investigated shootings and robberies in the Northeast District. The Dunbar High School graduate is the first city officer to die at the hands of another since Jan. 9, 2007, when Officer Troy Lamont Chesley Sr. was fatally shot during a robbery while off duty.

The funeral service was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at New Antioch Baptist Church in Randallstown.

Drivers in the area may experience delays while police in Baltimore County escort the funeral procession from the church, on Old Court Road near Windsor Mill Road, to Liberty Road, said county police spokesman Lt. Robert McCullough. The procession will continue down Liberty Road to the Baltimore Beltway, he said.

Maryland State Police will escort the procession on the beltway to Arbutus. Stevenson will be buried at Arbutus Memorial cemetery, McCullough said.

#BPDNeverForget

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 16 October 2010
City, St. 2800 block of Hudson St.
Panel Number N/A
Cause of Death Other
District Worked Criminal Investigation Division
Friday, 01 November 2019 10:18

Officer Francis Stransky

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Officer Francis Stransky

On this day in Baltimore Police History 10 January 1964, we lost our brother Officer Francis Stransky to injury/illness based on the following:

1964 would become one of the most violent years in the History of the Baltimore Police Department. By year’s end five officer’s lives would end in the line of duty, and this day 1964 would be the day that kicked them all off, it would be the day we would lose the first of those five officers.

Officer Stransky was a five year veteran, he was an aggressive officer, that worked his beat, knew everyone and did his job by the book. It was coming up on 6 o’Clock maybe quarter of, when Officer Stransky was in the 500 block of Ensor St, and came across a 22 year old wise guy by the name of Larry G. Wadsworth. Wadsworth was acting disorderly and refused to cease his actions and move on, when told he was being placed under arrest he felt it was up to him to resist that arrest, and that the officer wouldn’t be able to subdue him. What he didn’t know was Stransky was tough, and he knew the laws, so he used just the amount force he was allowed by law, an amount of force determined by the amount of resistance shown from Wadsworth. So Officer Stransky followed the rules to the letter, and when he tried to subdue Wadsworth and found he was no match, he followed the progression of force going from hand-to-hand, to the introduction of his Espantoon. A few jabs, and a strike or two from the stick, and Wadsworth tapped out. Wadsworth was ready to stop by Mercy Hospital on the way to Men’s detention, and that’s just where he was taken. While at Mercy he was quickly treated for the lumps he took and off the two men walked to the Central District Police Station where he would be booked on disorderly, assault, and resisting arrest.

While Wadsworth was waiting in one of the holding cells, Stransky was in the roll call room, he began feeling odd, something between dizzy and lightheaded, before he could call for help he would collapse to the floor.

Officer Stransky would die before anyone really understood what was happening with him. 22-year-old Wadsworth came in on what would have been minor charges. But before he knew what was going on the fight he decided to put up against that arrest, and against the officer's authority would have him catching another charge. But worse than the charge it would make him a murderer. Because in addition to a simple disturbance of the peace, and resisting charges, Wadsworth was now being charged with the assault, and the manslaughter, that caused this patrolman’s death.

Behind Stransky’s death we would see four more fallen officers by 1964's years end, those would be officers Claude Profili, Walter Matthys, Teddy Brafford, and Sgt. Jack Cooper. From an officer with less than a week on the streets, to an officer with 17-years on the streets, each was a man of valor, each was a loss that to this day is felt deeply.

Francis R. Stransky, a 39-year-old husband, and father of two. A policeman in the Central District for five years, Francis enjoyed patrolling the area around Cicero’s and the Belair market. He liked the people in the area, and he liked seeing the rich history of Baltimore, as well he liked to grab a quick bite to eat in the Belair Market and the brotherhood he would find in the Baltimore Police Department.

As we take this time to remember him, and thank him for his service and sacrifice. We his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department will not let him be forgotten. God Bless and rest in Peace.

#BPDNeverForget

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Patrolman, 39, Dies After Subduing Man


Jan 11 1964

Patrolman Francis Stransky, 39, of the Central District collapsed and died after subduing a 23-year-old maintenance man in the 500 block of Endor Street last night. Police said the patrolman was involved in an altercation with the man, subdued him, escorted him for treatment to Mercy Hospital and took his prisoner to the Central District station before collapsing. He was pronounced dead at 6:55 PM police said an autopsy was scheduled. The man was held for investigation


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Man Charged With Murder

Jan 12 1964

A 22-year-old man was charged with homicide yesterday in the heart attack death of 39-year-old Central District Patrolman Francis Stransky. Police charge. Larry G Wadsworth of the 1500 block of Gorsuch Ave. with homicide late yesterday following their investigation into the death Friday night of Patrolman Francis Stransky Patrolman Stransky became involved in an altercation shortly before 6 PM Friday in the 500 block of Ensor Street police said. He was struck at least once in the process, but subdued his assailant, and brought him to Mercy Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The patrolman then took his prisoner to the central district station to book him. The policeman collapsed in the assembly room at the station and was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital at 6:55 PM - The autopsy performed yesterday show patrolman Stransky died of a heart attack. Police said Wadsworth was then charged with assaulting the police officer and causing his death.

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 10 January, 1964
City, St. 500 Block of Ensor St
Panel Number 28-E: 15
Cause of Death Heart Attack
District Worked Central

Friday, 01 November 2019 10:16

Patrolman Henry W Sudmeier

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Patrolman Henry W Sudmeier

On this day 20 Dec 1934 in Baltimore Police History we lost our Brother Patrolman Henry W Sudmeier to accidental gun fire based on the following:

A little more than 8 years prior to his death Patrolman Henry Sudmeier was walking his beat in the Northern District. He was aware of a suspect robbing the poor boxes of local churches and of the Sacred Heart, so he stayed close to the Sacred Heart, a Catholic Church located at Mount Washington. It was during the night shift on a cool October night 1926, when he heard gunshots coming from inside the church, knowing of the recent poor box thefts, he grabbed his flashlight ( the papers back then called it an electric torch ) and ran in. Like all police he didn’t know what would be waiting for him inside, he didn’t know a suspect by the name Henry “Hank” Connelley, recently released from the Maryland State Penitentiary had entered the church earlier to steal money from the poor box. He didn’t know Captain Frank Gatch had set two plain clothes officers inside the church on a detail to catch “Hank” Connelley; he also didn’t know that when those detail officers, Patrolman Melvin Jackson and Patrolman Joseph Young, spotted Connelley and commanded him to “HALT”; Connelley would refuse and brake for the church entrance. This is what caused Officers Jackson and Young to begin firing on Connelley, and as a chain of events, it would be those gunshots that would cause Connelley to duck down near the pews where Officer Sudmeier was about to enter.

As Sudmeier entered the church he didn’t know lighting his flashlight would cause the young officers on this detail to mistake him for Connelley, and begin firing on him. Once shot Patrolman Sudmeier fell to the floor, Hank Connelley got up and started to run, but was quickly captured by Officers Jackson and Young. It was only as they were leaving the church that they would discover Officer Sudmeier was shot; he was lying there on the floor bleeding from a wound in the right side of his abdomen, (An extremely painful injury), but he didn’t say a word, not a single moan. So while one policeman handcuffed Hank Connelley, the other summoned an ambulance to hurry Patrolman Sudmeier to the hospital. Once there it was found that he has suffered a severe wound, and an operation was performed immediately. Surgeons were not confident regarding his chance for recovery.

Nonetheless Patrolman Sudmeier was as tough as they get, he had faith, and was optimistic. He also had one thing every good man has, and that was a good woman by his side. From his bed at Mercy Hospital he was recovering in leaps, and bounds, above what any of the doctors had expected. He would eventually be moved from Mercy Hospital to Mercy Villa, on Bellona Avenue. His condition was improving beyond expectations of the medical staff; he was able to get in and out of bed, to a wheelchair, (with assistance). He was paralyzed, so he knew he would never walk again. There is a certain amount of psychological grief, depression and other things to deal with when you learn of things like this; but at the time of his injury he was only about a year on the force, and a newlywed of just two months. His wife, Mrs. Lentha Sudmeier, gave him hope; she made him push forward, and without a single word made him work harder (I know the feeling, and the benefits of a good wife. In this type condition in front of the woman of your dreams, you don’t want to fail, so you give it everything you have.) Mrs. Ientha, came to the hospital to be with her husband every day, her love for him became his strength… and it seemed to be working – On one of his biggest nights of his life in the police force, came in June 1930 (It had been 4 years since being shot) and he was a guest of honor in the hospital auditorium where a party, or policemen’s ball was held. It was attended by 1800 patrolman of the day, the Police Commissioner “Charles D. Gaither” (he was the first PC in the modern police department, a department with just one commissioner instead of the board of commissioner that previously held the position) alongside the Commissioner was, Chief Inspector, George D Heary, Inspector Stephen G. Nelson and every captain on the force. Patrolman Henry W Sudmeier was about as proud as anyone could be that night. All that for him, all of it in front of his wife, and family it had to make them proud of him, it was a great day.

After that he was in and out of bed; he was able to be rolled out to the garden/park for some sun and fresh air. But unfortunately, his injuries were too many, and caused more weakness, with weakness came a decreased immune system, and before long infections were too much. He was taking several small steps forward, and then huge leaps back. This went on for four more years, looking good, and then looking bad, until an infection would set in that was so strong Officer Sudmeier would be forced to go back to Mercy Hospital. And like his first trip to Mercy eight year earlier; immediately upon his arrival surgeons would rush him in to surgery. They tried everything, still he steadily grew worse, and before long there was nothing they could do. Then on 19 Dec 1934 at 7:30 O’clock his death would come. Physicians said it was due to congestion of the lungs, brought on by his decreased vitality that was indirectly attributable to the gun-shot wound from eight years earlier. Patrolman Sudmeier was 36 years old at the time of his death.

As his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department we will not let him be forgotten, His service Honored the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department may he rest in peace, and may God bless him.

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 20 December, 1934
City, St. Mount Washington
Panel Number 37-E: 4
Cause of Death Gunfire
District Worked Northern
Page 9 of 14

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Baltimore Police Hall of Fame

These are member of the department that either started something that made lasting changes, or stood out for some particular act, or acts throughout their careers with the Baltimore Police department.

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Quotes

 

 

Before an arrow can go forward it has to go backward

No Right Time to do Wrong - and - No Wrong Time to do Right 

Leaders don't look for recognition from others. Leaders look for others to recognize.

A true leader knows they can't demand hard work and hope to better their people. They have to inspire those they lead to want to work harder and become better.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.- Dalai Lama

"Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on." - Robert F. Kennedy


 

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