Cincinnati Police Department, Ohio
End of Watch: Thursday, June 25, 1936
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: 166
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 25, 1936
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Patrolman Lawrence Robbins was shot and killed by two men attempting to rob him and his fiancee.
The suspects approached Patrolman Robbins and his fiancee while they were still in his car. When the suspects demanded her purse, Patrolman Robbins lunged out of the vehicle unarmed, pushed his fiancee to safety, and fought with the suspects. During the scuffle, Patrolman Robbins was shot twice, and the robbers escaped with the purse and Patrolman Robbins' car. After searching for help for 20 minutes, his fiancee was able to wave down a doctor, but Patrolman Robbins had succumbed to his wounds.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and his body was transported to Tennessee to be buried near his family.
The suspects, ages 17 and 18, were apprehended in Charleston, West Virginia, the next day. They were both charged with and convicted of first-degree murder. The youngest was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was commuted to 2nd-degree murder thirty years later. The oldest was incarcerated but was later remanded to a mental institution.
Patrolman Robbins had been with the Cincinnati Police Department for ten years.
He is buried in Slick Rock Cemetery, Scott County, Tennessee.