Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Luther Brooks accidentally shot and killed himself when his revolver fell out of its holster and fired while he was crawling out of a cave at the Millcreek bottoms north of 8th Street. He and several other officers were searching the cave for suspects wanted in a series of freight car robberies. Guns discharging when dropped was common since this was before the hammer block safety was invented. He was transported to City Hospital where he succumbed to his wound three days later. Patrolman Brooks had served with the Cincinnati Police Department for 8 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-0C7259CC- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Brooks gave the Cincinnati Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cincinnati community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Brooks.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Luther Brooks is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Cincinnati Police Department, 32 of 106 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Luther Brooks's cause is highlighted.
How Luther Brooks Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Luther Brooks is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Cincinnati Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
