Cincinnati Police Department, Ohio
End of Watch Tuesday, April 20, 1915
Add to My HeroesJames O'Neill
Patrolman James O'Neill was shot and killed while attempting to arrest four men underneath the Southern Bridge.
On April 18, 1915, at 2 a.m., while searching one of four suspects in a streetcar robbery at Liston and Riverside Avenues, another one of the suspects shot him in the chest. The four suspects fled, and Patrolman O'Neill fired three shots at them, but none took effect.
Alone on his beat, Patrolman O’Neill walked a block and a half to a call box at Liston and Ingalls Avenues to call for a patrol wagon. When the wagon arrived, he climbed aboard, unassisted, and was taken to General Hospital. The physicians believed that the bullet penetrated his chest and lodged in his back muscles and that he might survive.
The following night, police arrested several suspects, including a man who admitted that he was one of the people with the shooter but stated that he had tried to stop the shooting. He also gave the police the shooter's name and description.
By April 19, 1915, Patrolman O’Neill was in critical condition, and x-rays showed that the bullet had ranged downward and into his liver. At 4:45 a.m. on April 20, 1915, Patrolman O’Neill passed away.
Also, on April 20, 1915, a warrant was taken out against the suspected shooter. The investigation showed that he hired a boat to take him across the river to Kentucky after the shooting. He told the boatman that he had a problem with a policeman in Cincinnati.
On May 18, 1915, one month after the murder, the suspected shooter was captured in Mahnomen, Minnesota. While under arrest, the suspect told a prisoner that he had shot and killed a policeman in Cincinnati and that there was a $500 reward for his capture. Patrolman Roscoe Lewis, who knew the suspect on sight, was sent to Minnesota to pick him up.
During the ensuing trial, the suspect testified on his own behalf and offered no defense other than an unsupported alibi that he was working as a waiter when the offense occurred; the jury found the suspect not guilty due to the belief that the prosecution could not disprove that the suspect was working as a waiter that night.
Patrolman O'Neill had served with the Cincinnati Police Department for over 21 years. He was survived by his wife and son.
Bio
- Age 49
- Tour 21 years, 3 months
- Badge Not available
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Incident Date Sunday, April 18, 1915
- Weapon Gun; Unknown type
- Offender Acquitted
Most Recent Reflection
View all 6 ReflectionsNEVER FORGET! On behalf of the Ohio Attorneys General Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation, we honor the dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice of Patrolman James O'Neill of the Cincinnati Police Department, Ohio and the additional 72 American Peace Officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice on this date in history.
Superintendent Joe Morbitzer
Ohio Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Investigation
April 20, 2022
Recent LODD Deaths

Criminal Investigator Steven A. Carnes
Tom Green County District Attorney's Office, TX
EOW: November 13, 2022

Police Officer Gonzalo Carrasco, Jr.
Selma Police Department, CA
EOW: January 31, 2023

Master Patrol Officer Clarence L. "CJ" Williams
Cairo Police Department, GA
EOW: January 28, 2023

Supervisory Officer Jacqueline Montanaro
United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations, US
EOW: January 14, 2023

Police Officer Carl Douglas Kimball
St. Francisville Police Department, LA
EOW: January 12, 2023

Deputy Sheriff Darnell Calhoun
Riverside County Sheriff's Department, CA
EOW: January 13, 2023

Court Services Officer Curtis Matthew Worland
Alaska State Troopers, AK
EOW: December 13, 2022

Chief of Police Justin McIntire
Brackenridge Borough Police Department, PA
EOW: January 2, 2023

Deputy Sheriff Isaiah Cordero
Riverside County Sheriff's Department, CA
EOW: December 29, 2022