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End of Watch – May 27, 1906

On Sunday May 27, 1906, A group of children had gathered at the intersection of Stevens Avenue and 24th Street where they were watching a downed electrical wire arc on the street. 

Officer Charles Channels had the children leave the area and then attempted to swing the wire over a fence until to secure the scene until an electrician could be called to repair the wire. As he was doing so, the wire swung back towards him and came in contact with his left hand.  Officer Channels was killed instantly.

Officer Channels was 38 years old and had served with the Minneapolis Police Department for five years and was assigned to the Fifth Precinct.  He was survived by his wife.

Appointed – June 16, 1914
End of Watch – June 14, 1937

Officer Georgianna Sharrot was struck by a car as she crossed the street at Lyndale and Franklin Avenues on January 31, 1937.  She died from her injuries four and 1/2 months later on June 14, 1937 at the age of 67.

Officer Sharrot was born in New York City on September 21, 1869.  She moved to Minneapolis in 1908 and took a supervisor position in the nursery at the Pillsbury Settlement House.  In 1911, she moved to the countryside near the South Dakota border where she served as a house matron at a boy’s agricultural school.  Officer Sharrot moved back to Minneapolis in 1912 and worked for the Juvenile Protective League.  

Upon recommendation of both the Juvenile Protective and the Women’s Welfare Leagues she was appointed by the Mayor to the Minneapolis Police Department on June 16, 1914.  She was designated a “street mother” and was assigned duty as an advisor to children and young persons up to the age of 17. 

Officer Sharrot was very well known not only in Minneapolis but also around the world having been a Secretary of the International Policewomen’s Association and the President of its Minnesota and Northwest Division.

Officer Sharrott lived at 5309 Columbus Avenue South.  She was buried at Lakewood Cemetery on June 16, 1937.  She was a widow and was survived by her grown son and daughter and their families. 

Officer Sharrot was the fourth woman law enforcement officer to have been killed in the line of duty in the United States.   

Source – True Heroines: Police Women Killed in the Line of Duty Throughout the United States by William Wilbanks

Photograph courtesy of www.odmp.org

Appointed – January 1, 1904
End of Watch – February 2, 1928

Officer Albert Anderson was mortally injured just four blocks from his own home while trying to save the lives of others imperiled by a runaway horse. 

The horse, drawing an ice wagon, had been left unattended by the driver at 24th Avenue and Fillmore Street Northeast. 

Suddenly, the horse took off running. 

When Officer Anderson attempted to stop the horse he was knocked down and the horse stepped on him puncturing his abdomen. 

Officer Anderson died later that day at St. Barnabas hospital. 

Officer Anderson was 53 years old. He had served on the Minneapolis Police Department for 24 years. He was a widower and lived at 1922 Fillmore Street Northeast. 

Officer Anderson was interred at Hillside Cemetery on February 4, 1928.

Appointed – May 1, 1905

End of Watch – February 1, 1931

Officer Harry McGraw was shot and killed on February 1, 1931 during a robbery at the Loring Park Pharmacy at 1500 Hennepin Avenue.  Officer McGraw had been assigned on hazardous duty to the store after a series of robberies in the area.  A suspect entered the pharmacy, pulled his gun and ordered the clerk to hand over the money. Officer McGraw emerged from the back he and the suspect exchanged shots at a close range and both were fatally wounded.

Officer McGraw was 49 years old. He had been with the Minneapolis Police Department for 26 years and was due to retire on May 1. 

Officer McGraw and his wife lived at 3812 2nd Avenue South.  They had one daughter who died in infancy.

Funeral services for Officer McGraw were held on Wednesday, February 4, 1931 at the Church of the Incarnation.  His fellow officers formed a guard of honor at the services. Officer McGraw’s body was taken to his boyhood home of Greenleaf near Litchfield for burial.

Officer McGraw’s death increased pressure on the city to provide bulletproof vests for officers assigned to hazardous duty.

Appointed – August 29, 1912

End of Watch – June 24, 1919

On the evening of Monday, June 23, Motorcycle Officer George A Woessner was responding to an accident at 16th Street and Chicago Avenue where a hit-and-run driver had struck and killed a streetcar conductor as he stepped off his streetcar and then driven through the crowd of passengers of disembarking passengers. 

Officer Woessner was at 22nd Avenue South and Lake Street when he swerved to miss a car driving the wrong way.  He hit the curb and was thrown into a tree.  He was killed instantly. 

Officer Woessner was 36 years old and had been with the department for seven years. Before joining the motorcycle patrol, he was a patrol officer at the North Side Station. 

Officer Woessner was survived by his wife.  They lived at 1804 Park Avenue.  His funeral was held at Snell’s Undertaking at 20th and Bryant Avenues North. He was buried at LaCrosse, Wisconsin on June 26, 1919.