By Karen Andrew
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Paul R. Flaugher was a policeman, photographer and writer.

He died Tuesday of cancer at the Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community. The former O'Bryonville resident was 89.

He was born in 1913 to Irene Stall and Lee Flaugher, a horse patrolman assigned to the O'Bryonville/Oakley/Madisonville areas and later, the first detective assigned to the Cincinnati Vice Squad.

Mr. Flaugher attended the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering but it was during the Great Depression and he had to go to work. In 1937, he became a patrolman for the Cincinnati police.

He married Selina A. McCarthy of O'Bryonville in 1940.His son, Paul D. Flaugher of Mount Lookout, said his father had to cover great distances as a patrolman, either on foot or by streetcar.

"I've heard the old-timers talk about this," said Mr. Flaugher. "During the worst part of World War II, when he was the night chief, he had one regular policeman and three auxiliary patrolmen (brought out of retirement) for the entire city of Cincinnati."

He supervised every police district in Cincinnati at one time or another. His service included captain in charge of the Bureau of Identification, Juvenile Bureau and Training Bureau.

He was interested in photography, not only as a hobby but also supervised the police photography darkroom.

After his retirement from the police department in 1967, Mr. Flaugher went to work as a systems analyst on Project CLEAR (County Law Enforcement Applied Regionally) for the Hamilton County Data Processing Division. In 1987 he retired for a second time.

During the 1950s and '60s, he published articles in the Journal of International Association of Chiefs of Police on such subjects as the use of low-power wax bullets for basic firearms handling and training, and on the feasibility of using bullets made of ice.

He was a member of the Masons' Madisonville-Madeira Lodge No. 419 F&AM, the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Police Chief Association, Ohio Identification Officers Association and the Retired Police Supervisors Association.

Other survivors include a daughter, Cynthia A. Zeunik of Westfield, Ind.; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His wife died in 2000.

Visitation will take place at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community, with the funeral service following at 10:30 a.m.

Memorials: Marjorie P. Lee Chapel Fund, c/o Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community, 3550 Shaw Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208.