Substitute Patrolman James Gallagher

James Gallagher

Substitute Patrolman James Gallagher was shot and killed while investigating sounds of gunfire outside of his boarding house while off duty.

A drunk man had fired two shots at a group of strangers standing in front of the home at the corner of Longworth Street and Central Avenue. Hearing the shots, Patrolman Gallagher retrieved his revolver and went outside.

As he began to confront the subject, the man shot him twice. Despite being wounded, he was able to return fire and wounded the suspect. The man was subdued by a citizen. He was sentenced to only seven years in jail and pardoned after serving only two years. He died while serving a sentence for burglary in Rhode Island in 1887.

The Greater Cincinnati Firefighters Memorial sits on the spot where Substitute Patrolman James Gallagher was killed. It is also the location where Patrolman Samuel Robins, end of watch April 25, 1916, and Detective Albert Wegener and Policeman George LePoris, end of watch November 12, 1917, were killed.

Patrolman Gallagher had served with the Cincinnati Police Department for a few months. He was survived by his mother, sister, and brother, who served as a detective with the Louisville Police Department.

He is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.