In the spring of 1901, a dedicated law enforcement officer in Louisville, Kentucky, met a tragic and untimely end. Corporal Fred J. Richterkessing, a 38-year-old man serving on the local police force, was killed in the line of duty on the evening of Monday, April 1st. The events of that night unfolded at the intersection of Broadway and 6th Street, a location that would become the final post for the patrolman.
The circumstances leading to Corporal Richterkessing's death were rooted in
his professional diligence. He had on several occasions reported a subordinate officer for failing to be at his assigned post. This subordinate was Patrolman George Hanlon. On that fateful evening, the police headquarters noted that the 7:30 pm call from the callbox at Broadway and 6th Street, where Hanlon should have been, was not received. A short ten minutes later, Corporal Richterkessing was discovered at that same intersection with a fatal gunshot wound to the back of his head; he was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:40 pm.
The investigation swiftly pointed towards the disgruntled subordinate. Patrolman George Hanlon was located and arrested at the corner of 6th and York Street by fellow officers. Despite his assertions of innocence during a rigorous examination by the police chief and captain, Hanlon was jailed and charged with the murder of his superior officer.
The case proceeded to trial, where Patrolman Hanlon was ultimately found guilty of the murder of Corporal Fred J. Richterkessing. For his crime, Hanlon was sentenced to life in prison. Corporal Richterkessing was survived by his daughter, his life cut short by an act of violence from within his own ranks.
