Sergeant Joseph A. Burman | Cincinnati Police Department

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Age: 46
Served: 13¼ years
June 1, 1886 to September 29, 1899
On September 29, 1899, Sergeant Burman, while walking on railroad tracks in Madisonville, stepped from the eastbound track because a train was approaching. He stepped onto the westbound track and did not see the Baltimore and Ohio Pittsburg Express No. 103 that was running one hour late and making time at the rate of sixty miles an hour. The engineer applied the air brakes, but too late, and the train struck Sergeant Burman killing him instantly. After running nearly a mile the express was stopped and backed up, taking on the deceased and returning him to Cincinnati.

Sergeant Burman was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Jane, who died one year earlier, September 8, 1898, when having borne a child and lying between life and death, a nurse accidentally administered carbolic acid, killing her. The child died nineteen days later on September 27, 1998. All three are buried in St. Joseph New Cemetery.

If you have further information, artifacts, archives, or images of this officer, please contact the Museum Director at memorial@police-museum.org.