Police Officer John H. Grogan

John H. Grogan

Police Officer John Grogan was shot and killed after responding to a robbery call at 1531 Washington Avenue. As he arrived on the scene the five robbers were attempting to flee and opened fire on him, striking him in the heart. When a bystander came to his aid he was also shot and killed. The five juvenile suspects fled the scene but were apprehended a short time later.

Four, ages 16 to 20, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life. One escaped from prison in 1933 and was never captured. Two others escaped from prison in October of 1936. A year later they were captured in Cleveland, Ohio, after committing several bank robberies there. A few days later they escaped from the Cleveland Jail. One was quickly recaptured. The other was recaptured in Philadelphia in a stolen car two months later. Both received 65 year terms in Leavenworth. One, paroled in 1956, was shot and killed a few days later by St. Louis Police as he was commiting an armed robbery. The fourth suspect was paroled in 1939.

Officer Grogan had been with the agency for 22 years and was survived by his wife and four children.