Dayton Police Department, Ohio
End of Watch: Sunday, August 25, 2002
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: 214
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 15, 2000
Weapon Used: Handgun; .30 caliber
Suspect Info: Died in prison
Police Officer Mary Beall succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained on May 15th, 2000, when a suspect she was attempting to negotiate with shot her execution style.
She and several other officers had responded to a call of a man firing a gun at his girlfriend at 1834 Kensington Drive. When they arrived, they encountered the armed suspect. As other officers covered her, Officer Beall knelt down and re-holstered her service weapon in an attempt to talk the man into surrendering. As she did so, the suspect stuck his .30 caliber handgun in her neck and fired. Officer Beall's partner and other officers returned fire, wounding the suspect.
The suspect was charged with several counts from the initial incident and sentenced to 76 years in prison. He died in prison from natural causes in 2010.
The wound to Officer Beall caused paralysis from the neck down. She had undergone over one dozen surgeries before passing away.
Officer Beall had served with the Dayton Police Department for three years at the time of the shooting. She is survived by her husband, also a Dayton police officer, son, and two daughters.
She is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Kettering, Ohio.