Dayton Region's Fallen 90
Tragedy struck the region on November 7, 2019 when Dayton Police Detective Jorge Del Rio succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained three days earlier while serving a drug search warrant. Nearly nine years earlier on January 1, 2011, Clark County Deputy Sheriff Suzanne Hopper was shot and killed after responding to a "shots fired" call at an Enon trailer park. Five months later, on May 10, 2011 Warren County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Dulle was hit and killed while deploying stop sticks to halt a fleeing driver on State Route 42. This decade, law enforcement officers were killed by infectious virus, by gunfire, and in a traffic accident, respectively: University of Dayton Public Safety Officer Anthony Cloyd (2021), Clark County Deputy Sheriff Matthew Yates (2022), and Preble County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Hamilton (2023).
According to police historical records, no fewer than 90 law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty within a 25-mile range of the city of Dayton. The Police Departments from the three largest cities in this regional area - Dayton (31), Springfield (9), and Middletown (8) - account for 48 of these tragic deaths.
Below is the alphabetic roll of area Fallen Officers and the respective community law enforcement agencies they served. To learn more about these local officers, go to Officers Down Memorial Page. You may enter the name, department or other search category to find an officer or agency.
Aldridge, William (7-13-1977) - Jefferson Twp. Police Department
Baker, Richard (11-5-1965) - Dayton Police Department
Basore, George (10-30-1906) - Franklin Police Department
Beall, Mary (8-25-2002) - Dayton Police Department
Beard, Frederick (2-16-1983) - West Carrollton Police Department
Bohanan, James (12-30-1969) - Vandalia Police Department
Brinkmeyer, Henry (10-29-1939) - Middletown Police Department
Bruns, Daniel (7-1-1973) - Dayton Police Department
Burns, James (11-7-1964) - Ohio Division of Liquor Control (d: Xenia)
Collis, Charles (3-7-1904) - Springfield Police Department
Cannon, Charles (1-1-1938) - Ohio Highway Patrol-Springfield Post (d: Cedarville)
Casto, Jr., Leo (8-23-1974) - Wayne Twp. (Huber Heights) Police Department
Clark, George (1-29-1923) - Dayton Police Department
Cloyd, Anthony (12-9-2021) - University of Dayton Public Safety Department
Confer, Earl (1-29-1946) - Greene County Sheriff's Office
Cole, Ernest (10-3-1964) - Ohio Highway Patrol-Dayton Post (d: I-75 Butler Co.)
Crout, Ebert (5-6-1928) - Middletown Police Department
Dalton, William (8-10-1899) - Dayton Police Department
Dearduff, Jacob (2-22-1823) - Jamestown Police Department
Del Rio, Jorge (11-7-2019) - Dayton Police Department
Donnelly, John (7-14-1931) - Springfield Police Department
Drexler, Herman (5-16-1947) - Dayton Police Department
Dulle, Brian (5-10-2011) - Warren County Sheriff's Office
Dye, Edgar (3-12-1913) - Middletown Police Department
Eickmeyer, George (9-14-1945) - Tipp City Police Department
Elder, James (8-29-1982) - Mason Police Department
Elliott, Robert (2-25-1987) - Miami County Sheriff's Office
Francis, Clement (3-8-1919) - Dayton Police Department
Furry, Edward (9-3-1937) - Clark County Sheriff's Office
Glotfelter, Emerson (12-7-1918) - Dayton Police Department
Graham, Lawrence (10-7-1918) - Dayton Police Department
Grossnickle, Jason (5-23-1996) - Dayton Police Department
Hale, Orion (12-20-1957) - Germantown Police Department
Hamilton, Joshua (12-18-2023) - Preble County Sheriff's Office
Harman, Michael (3-29-1938) - Ohio Air National Guard Security (d: Springfield)
Harris, John (10-3-1888) - Cedarville Police Department
Harsh, Vinton (10-13-1918) - Dayton Police Department
Hennessey, Edward (10-19-1918) - Dayton Police Department
Hobson, Eddie (10-11-1981) - Dayton Police Department
Holderby, Oliver (7-4-1929) - Springfield Police Department
Holt, Charles (6-30-1932) - Springfield Police Department
Hopper, Suzanne (1-1-2011) - Clark County Sheriff's Office
Horn, William (9-18-1927) - Dayton Police Department
Johnson, William (6-27-1983) - Springboro Police Department
Kalaman, John (1-12-1998) - Centerville Police Department
Keller, Amer (1-7-1897) - Dayton Police Department
Knight, Alfred (9-15-1927) - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Police Department (d: Dayton)
Kolodzik, Otto (1-27-1932) - Middletown Police Department
Llewellyn, James (3-21-1915) - Springfield Police Department
Lutz, Clarence (12-29-1930) - Springfield Police Department
Lynam, Lee (1-17-1880) - Dayton Police Department
Matthews, Elvas (12-21-1922) - Xenia Police Department
McChesney, George (7-18-1928) - Middletown Police Department
McCormick, Claude (8-29-1933) - Oakwood Public Safety Department
Metzger, Paul (4-3-1972) - Kettering Police Department
Mobley, James (1-25-1970) - Dayton Police Department
Morris, William (11-22-1972) - Miami County Sheriff's Office
Mortimer, Paul (7-31-1970) - Dayton Police Department
Mortimer, William (3-4-1974) - Dayton Police Department
Mulder, Jan (8-11-1970) - Piqua Police Department
Nowlin, Sherman (5-3-1947) - Dayton Police Department
Perry, Donald (11-27-1970) - Greene County Sheriff's Office
Post, John (9-24-1927) - Dayton Police Department
Purcell, George (9-23-1916) - Dayton Police Department
Randolph, Martin (9-3-1937) - Springfield Police Department
Rauch, Walter (12-25-1927) - Dayton Police Department
Raynor, Gregory (4-18-1978) - Clark County Sheriff's Office
Rice, Lucius (10-5-1939) - Dayton Police Department
Richter, Randal (5-22-1975) - Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
Roth, Harold (5-5-1928) - Middletown Police Department
Safreed, Larry (10-2-1984) - Riverside Police Department
Sandlin, Dan (3-21-1930) - Middletown Police Department
Schmidt, Jahn (10-12-1976) - Butler Twp. Police Department
Simms, Charles (7-10-1925) - Xenia Police Department
Sine, Troy (1-28-1920) - Dayton Police Department
Skeen, Charles (4-10-1926) - Middletown Police Department
Stapleton, John (1-17-1916) - Dayton Police Department
Studebaker, Noah (10-17-1957) - Piqua Police Department
Thatcher, Bobby (4-20-1952) - Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
Taylor, Robert (11-3-1982) - Piqua Police Department
Thomas, Charles (5-21-1916) - Dayton Police Department
Vogel, Jr., Charles (1-24-1980) - Ohio Highway Patrol-Springfield Post(d:Clark County)
Warren, Jr., Leroy (7-29-1959) - Springfield Police Department
Weidner, Frank (11-16-1922) - Miamisburg Police Department
Wells, Ronald (4-6-1967) - Dayton Police Department
Whalen, William (3-22-1991) - Dayton Police Department
Wilson, Carl (2-18-1939) - Springfield Police Department
Wilson, William (2-23-1928) - Dayton Police Department
Woods, Robert (7-17-1976) - Germantown Department
Yates, Matthew (7-24-2022) - Clark County Sheriff's Office
A Part of America Died
-- by Harry Koch
Somebody killed a policeman today,
And a part of America died.
A piece of our country he swore to protect
will be buried with him at his side.
The suspect who shot him will stand up in court,
With counsel demanding his rights,
While a young widowed mother must work for her kids
And spend alone many long nights.
The beat that he walked was a battlefield, too
Just as if he'd gone off to war.
Though the flag of our nation won't fly at half mast,
To his name they will add a gold star.
Yes, somebody killed a policeman today,
It happened in your town or mine.
While we slept in our comfort behind our locked doors,
A cop put his life on the line.
Now, his ghost walks the beat on a dark night city street,
And now he stands at each new rookie's side.
He answered the call and gave us his all,
And a part of America died . . .
