Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Carl Hille was killed when a gas line exploded on Sycamore Street. Sergeant Hille responded to the report of a gas smell at the Hodge Drive-it-Yourself Co. at 511 Sycamore Street between 6th Street and 7th Street. As he walked into the building, the gas exploded. Sergeant Hille's body was hurled fifty feet in the air over the Saint Xavier Grade School and ended up in an alley behind the Convent of Notre Dame. He was killed instantly from a comminuted skull fracture. Four others were killed, and sixteen others were injured, some critically. Sergeant Hille had served with the Cincinnati Police Division for 13 years. He was survived by his wife and four children. He is buried in Vine Steet Cemetery. Sergeant Hille had been a legendary fast-pitch softball pitcher. In 1922, he started 69 games and lost only one. In 1954, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission converted what was once known as Lucky Circus grounds into a baseball field and, in 1960, dedicated the field in Sergeant Hille's memory. Over the years, the field fell into disrepair. During the mid-1990s, Elder High School repaired the field and used it as its home field. The field was rededicated on April 18, 1998, as the Carl F. Hille Memorial Field. Sergeant Hille's grandson joined the Cincinnati Police Department in the 1970s and retired as a Police Sergeant near the turn of the Century. Sergeant Hille's great-grandson joined the Cincinnati Police Department as a Police Officer in 2004.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-53C921F9- 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.
Sergeant Hille gave the Cincinnati Police Department 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cincinnati community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Hille.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Carl F. Hille 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. Carl F. Hille's cause is highlighted.
How Carl F. Hille Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Carl F. Hille is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Cincinnati Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
