Badge: 24
Age: 25
Served: About 3½ years
-1981 – City of Crestview Deputy Town Marshal
-1981 to March 28, 1983 – Cold Spring Police Department
-March 28, 1983 to December 30, 1984 – Newport Police Department
OFFICER
Tony was born September 24, 1959 to Gerald and Bonnie Jansen of Fort Thomas. “Ever since he knew what a police officer was, he wanted to be one,” his Aunt Barbara Reynolds of Illinois said. His brothers were also inspired to law enforcement. Ken joined the Wilder Police Department in 1978, then went on to Southgate, and by 1983 was serving the Boone County Police Department. Then Tony was appointed Deputy Town Marshall for the City of Crestview during 1981. When Crestview ceded law enforcement to Cold Spring four months later, Marshal Jansen joined the Cold Spring Police Department as a Police Officer. Finally, Mike, joined the Fort Thomas Police Auxiliary during 1982 and by 1984 was working as a Newport Police Officer.
Officer Jansen joined the Newport Police Department during March 1983. By December 1984, Officer Jansen, his wife, and two young children were living at 72 Gaddis Drive in Fort Thomas.
SUSPECT
Ricky D. and Patty Patty McIntosh and their two young girls had, for a few months, lived at 722 York Street. The house was owned by and had been the parsonage for the York Street Congregational Church and was rented out to the McIntoshes. At the time, Ricky was working as a maintenance worker at the Newport Housing Authority.
INCIDENT
According to Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh, Ricky left his home on December 29th to watch television at a friend’s home. He and his wife went to Fred’s Café in Newport at 9 p.m. and stayed until 1 a.m. on the 30th. At the café, Ricky’s brother gave him a firearm; ostensibly a long-barreled Dan Wesson .357 Magnum revolver. We do not know how much Ricky drank during those several hours as he carried the gun home.
On December 30, 1984, shortly after 1 a.m., Glenda Gray and her children were returning from her mother’s residence in a cab when she saw a man pull a gun out of a bag. She anonymously called Newport Police and reported a man waving a firearm in the 700 block of York Street. Other neighbors heard McIntosh arguing with a female.
Police Officer Jansen and his partner, Police Officer Barry Nicholson, and Police Officer Greg Cooper were dispatched to the scene. About 1:15 a.m., the officers entered the side yard. Officer Jansen walked to the northeast corner of 722 York Street with Nicholson a step behind. Jansen looked around the corner of the front porch. With his back to the wall, Officer Jansen glanced over his left shoulder at his partner and said, “He’s inside. He’s got a gun. It’s a big one.” With gun drawn, Nicholson faced the backyard to make sure no one escaped out the back door.
McIntosh came out onto the front porch. Officer Nicholson heard Officer Jansen excitedly say, “Put it down!” or “Throw it down! Put it down!” Cooper was standing behind a tree in front of the church as heard Officer Jansen holler, “He’s by the wall!”; then, “Drop it – Police!”. But he could not see the porch until he came around the tree. By then, shots were being fired.
Officer Nicholson’s perception was that McIntosh (25) opened fire. Officer Nicholson returned fire. Officer Jansen, struck twice, fell, still clutching the microphone of this walkie-talkie. One neighbor reported to the media that the shots came from the window of the house. Police said McIntosh fired from the porch. Cooper heard the shots and saw bursts of light as he was coming around the tree. Assuming offensive gunfire from McIntosh, he fired two shots in response.
None of the shots fired took effect on McIntosh. One of the bullets that hit Officer Jansen entered his left side, pierced his lower lung and lodged in his spine, according to Campbell County Coroner Dr. Fred Stine. A second bullet entered his lower back from the left side and exited his right side. Though there were no vital signs at the scene, the Newport Life Squad took Officer Jansen to St. Luke Hospital, arriving at 1:35 a.m. He was pronounced dead at 2:20 a.m., having, for all practical purposes, bled to death.
FUNERAL
Officer Jansen was survived by his wife, Karen Jansen; children, Melissa Jansen (2) and Anthony E. Jansen, Jr. (6 mos.); parents, Gerald and Bonnie Jansen; grandparents, Myrtle Jansen and Eddie and Hattie Lawson; brothers, Newport Police Officer Michael Jansen (23) and Boone County Police Officer Ken Jansen (26).
On January 1, 1985, Newport Mayor Steve Goetz proclaimed a 30-day period of mourning for the city and all its businesses, institutions, and residences. Funeral services were held on January 3, 1985 at Radel Funeral Home on York Street in Newport (Chip Radel waived all charges) and 1500 police officers passed by the casket.
A procession of more than 60 police cars escorted Officer Jansen to Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate. An honor guard delivered a 21-Gun Salute and bugled Taps. More than 600 officers, some from as far away as Florida, attended the graveside ceremonies.
INVESTIGATION
McIntosh was taken to the Campbell County Jail and held there without bond, charged with Murder, and scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning. A search warrant was obtained soon after the shooting and arrest of McIntosh and a Dan Wesson .357 Magnum revolver was recovered.
Then, on the day of the funeral, it was reported to Newport Police by Kentucky State Police forensics specialists that it was not McIntosh’s bullets, but Officer Nicholson’s, that killed Officer Jansen.
It was McIntosh’s illegal activity that caused the incident, so the Murder charge was not withdrawn. It was at this point that the once supportive media, especially the Cincinnati Enquirer, did a 180º turnabout, and maligned the Newport Police Department, its investigation of the shooting, and the shooting itself.
McIntosh pleaded innocence on Friday, January 4, 1985. Campbell District Court Judge Lambert Hale scheduled a preliminary hearing for Thursday, January 10, 1985. On January 5, 1985, an acquaintance of McIntosh’s posted his bond of $10,000. Friends and acquaintances were trying to raise $10,000 to $20,000 for his defense and the media supported their effort in extraordinary fashion.
His hearing on the 10th was continued until January 17, 1985 awaiting various reports from the Kentucky State Police Crime Laboratory, according to C. Houston “Hoot” Ebert, assistant Campbell County commonwealth attorney, to determine if McIntosh’s gun had been fired. He was defended by John G. Patten, Jr.
After five hours of testimony on the 17th, Judge Hehl, to the surprise of all, dropped the murder charge. Chemical analysis of clothing indicated neither Jansen nor McIntosh fired their firearms. This was not a determining factor, according to the judge, but he said there was insufficient evidence to bind the case over to a grand jury.
Lou Ball, Campbell County commonwealth attorney, furthermore, announced on January 28, 1985 that no added charges were going to be brought against McIntosh and he was set free.
EPILOGUE
By March 29, 1985, an internal investigation determined that McIntosh had pointed his firearm at the officers, and they reacted in conformity with established police procedures. Officer Nicholson, by then, had been “recertified and re-evaluated as to his fitness and ability to continue as a police officer” and was expected to return to duty immediately.
Officer Cooper resigned before the internal investigation having accepted other employment.
Officer Nicholson resigned April 19, 1985 and returned to school.
Officer Ken Jansen continued his career and retired from the Boone County Police Department. After retirement, he continued in law enforcement as a Boone County Deputy Sheriff; then a Campbell County Deputy Sheriff; then finally the Southgate Police Department. He finally retired during 2016 after 38 years of service.
Officer Mike Jansen transferred to the Campbell County Police Department in 1985, then served in Erlanger (1990) and Fort Thomas (1998). He retired in 2009. Officer Jansen was then appointed as a Campbell County Commonwealth Detective. During 2014, Detective Jansen ran for and was elected to the office of Campbell County Sheriff; where, after 36 years in law enforcement, he still serves.
Anthony E. Jansen, Jr. joined the Highland Heights Police Department as a Police Officer. During February 2012, Officer Jansen and another officer saved a man from a burning vehicle for which they received their department’s Medal of Honor. He was promoted to Detective and testified in the high-profile Shayna Hubers homicide case. He then joined the Covington Police Department where he now serves.
If you have information, artifacts, archives, or images regarding this officer or incident, please contact the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum at memorial@police-museum.org.
© This narrative was further researched and revised January 28, 2019 by Cincinnati Police Lieutenant Stephen R. Kramer (Retired), Greater Cincinnati Police Museum Vice President, and Campbell County Sheriff Michael Jansen. All rights are reserved to them and the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum.