Thomas E. Mentrup

Amberly Village Police Lieutenant
Hamilton Count Police Association Offices Secretary
Police Intelligence Coordinating Agency (PICA) Founder
Cincinnati International Airport Police Chief
Greater Cincinnati Police Museum Docent

Tom was born September 11, 1935 in Cincinnati. He attended St. Gregory Seminary, graduating in 1952, then Mount Saint Mary (Athenaeum of Ohio) College, graduating in 1956. He also attended Xavier University, eventually earning a master’s degree in psychology.

Tom was drafted into the United States Army in 1958. He went to Armor School at Fort Knox in 1959. He served most of his tour in Germany where he worked on tanks, armored personnel carriers, and took the time to learn the language. Specialist 4/c Mentrup was honorably discharged in 1960.

On August 1, 1961, Tom joined the Amberly Village Police/Fire Department, one of two such combined entities in the state of Ohio. In April 1963, he completed the Cincinnati Police Academy, finishing second in the class. Still early in his career, he completed the prestigious University of Cincinnati Homicide Seminar.

After finishing first on a promotional examination, he was promoted to Sergeant on September 16, 1964. In 1967, Sergeant Mentrup was a member of the interagency Task Force Burglary Investigation Team and graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 79th National Academy.

Also in 1979, he was promoted to Lieutenant. During his Amberly career, he was elected to several officer positions in the Hamilton County Police Association, including Trustee, Secretary, Treasurer, and Second Vice President; served as an instructor for the Ohio Peace Officer’s Training Council in Criminal Law and Police Computer Technology; was a founding member of the Police Intelligence Coordinating Agency (PICA); and was elected Secretary of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 74.

On January 17, 1977, Lieutenant Mentrup was named Police Chief of the Greater Cincinnati Airport Police. By 1990, he transitioned to Security Administrator. He retired from there with more than three decades of service to the country, Amberly Village, and the airport.

After retiring, Chief Mentrup remained deeply involved in the law enforcement community, volunteering at the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum every Saturday, helping the Historian with his vast knowledge of regional law enforcement history, researching genealogical records of officers killed in the line of duty, and translating century-old German newspaper articles. He continued his service at the Museum right up to the month of his death, December 2024, at the age of 89.