Detective Roman C. Steinke

Roman C. Steinke

Detective Roman Steinke died one week after he was shot by a gunman who owned a laundry at 2705 Diversey. The killer barricaded himself in the laundry and held 150 policemen at bay for 30 minutes before he was captured. He was also critically wounded in the battle and died in a Chicago hospital ten weeks later.

The incident began when Detectives Roman Steinke and Jeremiah Lucey attempted to arrest the laundry owner for slapping a boy. The gunman claimed he did not know Steinke and Lucey were police officers but instead thought the plain clothes officers had come into his shop to beat him.

Detective Steinke’s partner, Jeremiah Lucey, succumbed to his wounds on the day of the shooting.

Detective Roman Steinke was assigned to the Shakespeare District. He is survived by his wife and two children.