Monday, May 10, 1999
Fallen female officer honored at last
Anna Hart murdered by inmate 83 years ago
BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Cincinnatian may have been the nation's first female law officer murdered on duty as well as the most overlooked.
She was Anna Hart, and 83 years after her death, officers are coming together this week to commemorate her life.
Miss Hart was killed in 1916 by an inmate at the Hamilton County Jail in Camp Washington.
Her story surfaced during historical research by Dan Wolfangel, former spokesman for the Hamilton County sheriff.
He and colleagues asked the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to honor her.
Miss Hart's name has been added to the memorial in Washington, D.C., and it will be unveiled this week as officers across the country celebrate Police Memorial Week.
“It doesn't make a difference whether the lady in that jail happened to be a him or a her,” said Samuel Chapman, who mentions Miss Hart in his book, Murdered on Duty: The Killing of Police Officers in America. “Gender does not dictate when you're going to be attacked.”
Mr. Chapman said it's important for slain officers to be remembered — however late. “It's a matter of respect and recognition. These people didn't choose to go the way they did.”
Miss Hart, 45, known as “Annie,” was the daughter of a Clifton florist. She was a seamstress before she took a job as a jail matron.
On the afternoon of July 24, 1916, she was about to leave the jail and go home.
Power to the elevator in the women's quarters had been turned off, blocking her exit, so Miss Hart headed for the men's tier. Inmates were supposed to be at dinner and she expected the hallway to be deserted.
Instead, an inmate was waiting in ambush, said Steve Barnett, Hamilton County sheriff's office spokesman.
Mr. Barnett, who worked with retired Col. Wolfangel on Miss Hart's case, said her death was prompted by a card game.
“Before we began the game, we decided that the loser would be the one to strike her on the head,” inmate Rueben Ellis was quoted as saying in a 1916 newspaper story. “I was the loser.”
As prisoners marched to dinner, he dropped out of line and hid behind a bathroom curtain on the fifth tier.
When Miss Hart approached, he knocked her unconscious with a 20-inch iron bedpost, planning to take her keys and escape.
Miss Hart died of a skull fracture.
Mr. Ellis, also known as Reuben Ellison, was convicted of her murder.
It was unclear whether inmates expected Miss Hart or were ready to attack any guard.
Miss Hart had never married and her story largely was forgotten after her generation of Harts died.
Family members today know little of her background, said Judy Driggers, a great-grandniece in Anderson Township, who lacks even a photo of Miss Hart.
The memorial will fill a gap of family history and correct a mistake on the national memorial, which listed Mary T. Davis as the first female law officer killed on duty. Ms. Davis, a warden of female prisoners in Wilmington, Del., was murdered by an inmate eight years later.
“It's important to recognize the sacrifice that an officer makes,” said Bernie Spence, director of research at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “I'm just so grateful to have this information.”
Fallen female officer honored at last
Police Memorial Week observances
$6M radio system is in works
Ky. hotels compete as occupancy dips
Ohio couple 'kidnapping' Justin, lawyer contends
Hearts, home open to son of tornado victims
Sun hazard: Drivers blinded by the light
Voinovich becomes a voice in Capitol
Westwood boy, 13, shot, critical
All ages come together at Jammin' on Main
GET TO IT
Two Hamilton clinics closing
Gifts inflate Mitch relief effort
Hawkins honored as trustee emeritus of Freedom Center
6 killed as plane crashes in Ohio
LaSalle names new principal
Oxford to start pay-as-you-throw
Principal's trial starts today
Train takes journey into happy times
TRISTATE DIGEST
