St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Missouri
End of Watch: Friday, December 15, 1972
Age: 60
Tour of Duty: 27 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 15, 1972
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Apprehended
Police Officer Harold Warnecke was shot and killed by two robbery suspects outside of a Kroger grocery store at 4312 North Grand Boulevard.
The two men had just robbed the store of $1,000 and were fleeing at approximately 8 a.m. when Officer Warnecke pulled up to the store to do a business check, not knowing a robbery had just been committed. As he was getting out of his patrol car the store manager pointed to the suspects and Officer Warnecke called out to them. One of the men approached Officer Warnecke and second man circled around and shot him in the back three times. Before fleeing, the suspects stole Officer Warnecke's watch, wallet, and revolver. Both men were apprehended a short time later.
Officer Warnecke was a WWII US Navy veteran and was the sole survivor of a U.S. Navy gun crew on a U.S. Merchant Marine ship that was hit by a shell. Officer Warnecke had been with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for 27 years. He was survived by his wife and two children.