Constable Roy Edward Carter | Miami Township (Clermont County)

Age: 38
Served:  2 years
September 8, 1964 to August 6, 1966

 

OFFICER

Roy was born on October 15, 1928 in Lee County, Virginia to coal miner James Melvin and Flossie Marie (Baker) Carter.  By 1940, his father moved the family to Deerfield Township in Warren County.  By 1946 he was working for Columbia Records in King Mills.

He married Irene Bertha Block on January 7, 1950 in Indiana.

By the summer of 1966, Constable Carter and his family were living at 1187 Catherine Drive in Milford and he was employed by the General Electric Company.

Roy also volunteered as a Constable for the Miami Township Police Department and as an officer for the East Milford Fire Department.

 

INCIDENT

Constable Carter was directing traffic around a vehicle crash on Branch Hill Loveland Road when Stanley Lewis, 37, RR 4, Loveland, Ohio, drove through his stop signal.  Constable Carter pursued Lewis at high speeds and radioed Clermont County Sheriff Donald Watson for assistance.

Lewis crashed after two miles and when Constable Carter caught up with him, a struggle ensued, and Lewis punched Constable Carter several times in the chest.  When Clermont County Deputy Sheriff Robert Jones arrived, Lewis’s hands were cuffed, but the constable was struggling to breathe.

Both were transported to Our Lady of Mercy Hospital Anderson.

 

DEATH

Constable Carter died of a heart attack within twenty minutes of arriving at the hospital.

Constable Carter was survived by his wife, Irene Bertha (Block) Carter; daughters, Bonnie Sue Carter (16) and Pamela Elizabeth Carter (13); parents; and siblings, Geneva McKeehan, Wilma Dovie, Elmer Carter, and Daniel Carter. Funeral services were held on August 10,1966, at the Monroe-Copher Funeral Home.  He was buried in Graceland Memorial Garden.

 

JUSTICE

Stanley Lewis could not be charged with the traffic offenses as Constable Carter was the only witness.  Nor was he charged in his death.  He led a full life with his family until he died at 78 years old in 2008.

 

If you know of any information, archives, artifacts, or images regarding this officer or incident, please contact the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum at Memorial@Police-Museum.org.

_{© This narrative was researched and revised on May 13, 2012 by Cincinnati Police Lieutenant Stephen R. Kramer (Retired), Greater Cincinnati Police Museum Executive Director, with research assistance from Cincinnati Homicide Detective Edward W. Zieverink (Retired), Greater Cincinnati Police Museum Historian.  All rights are reserved to them and the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum.}