According to research from Steve Grismer of the Dayton Police History Foundation, the Dayton officers who died in 1918-1920 of complications from Spanish Influenza had been ordered to close saloons that violated health orders, staff ambulances, keep crowds from gathering and remove corpses.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The officers, date of death and background from the Dayton Police History Foundation:
Patrolman Lawrence Robert Graham, End of Watch, October 7, 1918: Graham served with the Dayton Police Department for less than two years. He was survived by his wife, father, three brothers and two sisters.
Patrolman Vinton E. Harsh, End of Watch, October 13, 1918: Harsh served with the Dayton Police Department for less than three years. He was survived by his wife and one child.
Patrolman Edward Michael Hennessey, End of Watch October 12, 1918: Hennessey served with the Dayton Police Department for almost six and a half years. He was survived by his wife, daughter, father, and sister.
Patrolman Emerson A. Glotfelter, End of Watch December 7, 1918: Glotfelter served with the Dayton Police Department for four months. He was survived by his wife.
Patrolman Clement Leroy Francis, End of Watch March 8, 1919: Francis served with the Dayton City Police Department for less than three years. He was survived by his wife and four children. His 5-year-old daughter died from the Spanish Influenza on the same day Patrolman Francis was buried.
Patrolman Troy Elmer Sine, End of Watch January 28, 1920: Sine served with the Dayton City Police Department for 18 months. He was survived by his wife and four children.
More than 700 Dayton residents died from Spanish Influenza between October 1918 and January 1919, Grismer’s research showed. Officers who worked to stop the spread of the flu and to maintain order also became ill, and the six officers died.
The memorial event added to the wall eight law enforcement officers who died between 2020 and 2022.
Two of those officers are from the Dayton region.
Deputy Matthew Yates of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed on July 24, 2022, responding a domestic incident that left two other people dead.
Yates was remembered Thursday by Clark County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kristopher Shultz as “the kind of person that we wish every law enforcement officer could be.” “I have never heard a single person ever — whether in the criminal justice community or the criminal community — ever have a bad word to say about Matt Yates.”
Also added was Deputy Robert C. “Craig” Mills of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, who died in September 2021 from COVID-19 complications.
Others to be added to the memorial wall today include:
- Deputy Daniel J. Kin, Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office
- Officer Dominic M. Francis, Bluffton Police Department
- Agent John D. Stayrook, Medina County Drug Task Force
- Patrolman Sean E. Vandenberg, Lawrence Twp. Police Department
- Officer Edward L. Stewart, Akron Police Department
- Officer Kenneth C. Jones, Akron Police Department
One other officer from the 1900s will be added, too. Deputy Herbert Minshull of Perry County was shot in the line of duty while serving a warrant in 1945, according to a release.
Attorney General Dave Yost said during the ceremony that the purpose of the memorial wall is to ensure the officers who died in the line of duty will not be forgotten.
“The promise that we make to fallen officers — to keep their memories alive — is not only for them,” Yost said. “We do it for the officers and deputies who stand and serve now. “We do this so that all of them know how much we value them, and their mission and their courage.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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