Roll of Honor
Incident
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
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- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
21 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman O'Neill gave the Cincinnati Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Cincinnati community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman O'Neill.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman James O'Neill is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In OH, 572 of 991 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 57.7% of this state's fallen. That is 57.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Cincinnati Police Department, 63 of 106 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 59.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James O'Neill's cause is highlighted.
How James O'Neill Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. James O'Neill is highlighted in Apr.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. James O'Neill was killed by gun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Cincinnati Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
