On May 16th, 1947, Dayton Police Patrolman Herman A. Drexler was pursuing a burglary suspect when he suffered critical injuries from getting shot.

He and a fellow officer had arrived in time to witness an attempted break-in at a hardware store. Without any hesitation, he jumped out of the cruiser and started chasing the suspect, who ran into an adjacent parking lot. But that’s where the man abruptly turned, pulled a handgun and fired, hitting Patrolman Drexler in the chest. As he fell he shouted a warning to the other officer, who was then also shot but managed to disarm and subdue the suspect.

Herman died of his injuries at the scene. The wounded officer survived. The 34-year-old shooter was sentenced to life.

Patrolman Drexler was 27 years old at the time of his death, and had served with the Dayton Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and a 2-month-old son.

Herman was a U.S. Army World War II veteran.