CINCINNATI — Dale Woods of Colerain Township was the seventh Tri-State police officer killed in the line of duty in the 21st century.
Nearly 200 law enforcement officers have been killed in the Tri-State since 1845, according to the Greater Cincinnati Police Historical Society Museum.
Let us not forget:
Cincinnati Officer Sonny Kim, June 19, 2015:
The last victim, 48-year-old Kim, was shot in an ambush on a Madisonville street shortly after 9 a.m.
Police said the killer, 21-year-old TrePierre Hummons, twice called 911 that morning and reported a man "walking around, getting belligerent with a gun." Hummons gave his own description with the intention of luring and killing as many officers as he could, according to police. Kim, 48, unaware Hummons was lying in wait, was the first to respond.
The night before, Hummons’ girlfriend had filed a rape complaint against him. Hummons’ mother had seen him drinking earlier that morning and went out to look for him. She caught up to him near the corner of Whetsel and Roe and tried to convince him to go home. Police said she didn’t know Hummons had a gun in his waistband or that he was bent on killing police officers.
Hummons stood behind his mother as Kim got out of his cruiser with his Taser drawn, police said. Hummons’ mother called to Kim and said she would take her son home. Hummons waited until Kim walked closer, then opened fire.
With Kim lying mortally wounded, Hummons wrestled away Kim’s gun and shot at a probation officer parked down the street, then turned the gun on the next arriving officer, Specialist Tom Sandmann. Sandmann took cover behind his car and fired back, killing Hummons.
Cincinnati Officer Kevin Crayon, Sept. 1, 2000
The 40-year-old Crayon died trying to protect a family from a 12-year-old driving a car.
At nearly 1 in the morning, Crayon saw a boy behind the wheel in a UDF parking lot near the intersection of Colerain and Kirby avenues. As the car backed up toward a family walking behind it, Crayon reached through the window to grab the keys. The driver, Courtney Mathis, took off onto Colerain Avenue with Crayon holding on for his life, police said.
With the car dragging him at high speed, the officer drew his gun and shot the driver. The car went out of control and Crayon fell to the roadway, slid across the pavement, and struck a car at North Bend Road, killing him instantly. Shot in the chest, Mathis was able to drive to his nearby home. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
Warren County Sgt. Brian Dulle, May 10, 2011.
The 36-year-old chief deputy was hit by a fleeing car at more than 100 mph as he tried to throw stop sticks in its path on U.S. Route 42 in Lebanon.
Officers started chasing the driver, 22-year-old Marcus Anthony Isreal, for speeding and didn't know the car was stolen. Isreal had prior convictions for robbery and drug offenses and had served time in prison.
Isreal was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Kentucky Conservation Officer Douglas Bryant, May 19, 2003.
The 62-year-old Bryant was pursuing a fleeing driver when he was killed in a crash on I-75 near the Buttermilk Pike exit.
Bryant had stopped a vehicle driven by Lloyd C. Robinson, 56, of Florence. Robinson took off and, as Bryant chased him, Robinson swerved into Bryant';s patrol truck, causing it to flip, witnesses said. Bryant was thrown from his vehicle and died at the scene.
Robinson was convicted of reckless homicide.
Lawrenceburg Det. Sgt. Thomas Cochran, Jan. 25, 2005
Cochran, 56, survived a 1983 shootout but lost his life 22 years later in the line of duty.
Cochran killed 30-year-old Michael Tandy in a gunbattle after Tandy wounded Cochran, another officer and a dispatcher. After that, Cochran trained to become a negotiator.
In 2005, two officers were dealing with a suicidal man who was holding a knife to his throat. They were getting nowhere and called for Cochran. Cochran was on his way when his patrol car slid on an icy patch of highway and slammed into a concrete retaining wall. He was critically injured and died the next day.
Ross Township Chief Carl Worley, Jan. 26, 2010.
Worley, 57, and others responded to a report of a burglary and started tracking footprints in the snow. Later, the others found Worley slumped over in his vehicle. He had died of a heart attack caused by coronary artery disease.
SEE a list of Tri-State officers who have died in the line of duty and read their stories.
The information for this story was compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Police Historical Society Museum.
