Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Police Department, Railroad Police
End of Watch: Monday, July 15, 1918
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 15, 1918
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Convicted of murderr
Railroad Detective Robert Kinman was shot and killed as he and another railroad detective investigated a group of trespassers in the railroad yards in Ashland, Kentucky.
The yard master had notified the detectives after he saw a group of men in the yard and suspected them of being boxcar thieves. The detectives located on of the men standing along a train and discovered he was carrying 20 pints of liquor. As they talked to the man one of his companions emerged from underneath the train shot both officers, killing Detective Kinman. The subjects fled the scene but were eventually arrested.
The man who shot Detective Kinman had recently been released from prison after serving a short sentence for murdering a woman. He was convicted of Detective Kinman's murder and sent back to the state penitentiary. He escaped from prison in 1921 with two other inmates.