The 1929 Tornado that Destroyed Columbus Police Headquarters

While the flooding that plagued West Columbus for the better half of a century has remained on the collective memory of the community, many folks have forgotten about another natural disaster – a tornado that tore through the Sullivant Avenue workhouse, killing two prisoners and injuring eight others.

The disaster was dubbed the 1929 Rye Cove, Virginia tornado outbreak. On a national level, it resulted in approximately 42 deaths and 323 injuries from Oklahoma to Maryland. The category-three tornado passed through West Columbus at about 3 p.m. from the Galloway area to Franklinton.

Fire Chief Allen Nice and another firefighter survey damage caused by the tornado that leveled the jail’s west wing on May 2, 1929.

When the workhouse was struck by the twister, its destructive winds ripped down a cell block on the building’s oldest wing. Men who were sitting in their jail cells had no place to take cover and were killed or crushed by brick, mortar and steel.

Efforts to locate victims were led by Columbus Fire Chief Allen Nice and local firefighters. There were also reports of some prisoners aiding firefighters in digging through the rubble to rescue the injured. The search posed its own risks, as one firefighter and a police secretary were injured while clearing debris.

The men killed were 38-year-old Derrill Devore and 47-year-old George Washington. Both men were being held on charges of intoxication, with Devore having arrived at 10:30 a.m. that morning. Washington was serving out a $10 fine for public drunkenness.

Six of the prisoners injured had to be hospitalized. These men were Otto Mallot, Frank Flay, Elmer Cox, Harry Thacher, Mile Morrissey and Harry Love. They suffered fractured skulls, broken limbs and other internal injuries.

“All of the prisoners caught in the shower of debris were in for misdemeanors and traffic law violations, while the more serious offenders, locked securely in their cells, escaped injury,” one journalist wrote.

The Circleville Herald reported there were a total of 217 men being held in the old portion of the city prison. Other media outlets later reported a total of eight prisoners were injured and eight others escaped in the chaos.

“Tons of brick and mortar were loosed upon a score of 200 prisoners that occupied the west wing of the ‘U’ shaped building. About 10 hours after the storm, when police had made a thorough check of the prisoners, they had accounted for all but eight. These, it is believed, fled in the excitement,” reported the Wilmington News-Journal.

Some additional prisoners initially vanished, but returned later and told authorities they only wanted to visit their families and assure them of their safety.

Police officials had to transfer 90 male and 15 female prisoners to the Franklin County Jail the same night; the prisoners kept in the east wing for secured since that portion of the workhouse escaped damage.

Franklinton had lost one of the last bases of government to remain west of the Scioto River. The workhouse was damaged beyond repair. Only a portion of the cell block’s walls remained standing, but they were later knocked down for safety.

The new Columbus Police Headquarters relocated east of the Scioto River at the intersection of present-day Marconi Boulevard and Gay Street.

The city has been working on the construction of a new headquarters downtown, at the area of Water Street (present-day Marconi Boulevard) and Gay Street. The storm forced city officials to hurry and finish the building, which opened March 1930.

Until the destruction of its facility May 2, 1929, the Columbus Division of Police operated out of Franklinton. The Columbus Police Headquarters and Workhouse was located at 515 Sullivant Avenue, at the corner of McDowell Street.

Today, it’s the site of the Dodge Park and Recreation Center. The city park was named in remembrance of long-time park and recreation director, Mel Dodge, when he retired after 30 years with the department.

Construction on what locals called “the old workhouse” began Jan. 26, 1896. The building initially started as a jail, but expanded to function as police headquarters from 1920 to 1930. Columbus officials demolished the building on Aug. 31, 1931.

Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.

The Infamous Columbus Police Shootout of 1938

Detective Robert Cline had just completed his 11th year on the Columbus police force, when he was shot in the abdomen and killed while pursuing four bank robbers on Feb. 5, 1938.

One day prior, the suspects held up the Hilltop branch of the Ohio National Bank for the alleged amount of $3,500. The four men were found hiding-out in a boarding house on Guilford Avenue, when Detective Robert Cooke led his fellow officers and cornered the suspects in the two-story residence.

Detective Robert Cline outside the Columbus Police Headquarters.

The suspects included Cleveland natives Carl Boettcher, Vincent Grinkowicz, Stephen Figuli and a gangster only known as “Mac.” They were spotted by a motorcycle officer who observed the suspicious men entering the rooming house.

Initial reports thought “Mac” was infamous bank robber Charles Bird – called public enemy No. 2 by federal agents – but it turned out to only be a case of mistaken identity after fingerprint analysis.

The early morning manhunt quickly escalated into one of the fiercest firefights between officers and bank robbers in the city’s history. The 20-minute gunfight resulted in two suspects being shot and killed and two other officers, Detective Leo Phillips and Detective William Danner, were badly injured.

Neighbors recalled the incredible sight of police detectives swarming the building, then the near immediate sounds of gunfire and pandemonium.

Danner was shot in the gut by a stray bullet, and Phillips was grazed by a bullet to the eyelid. Bystander Eva Watring was also caught in the crossfire and suffered a shot to the thigh. The only officer to leave unhurt was Cooke, according to reports.

“Everybody was shooting. I felt a stinging sensation under my eye and blood began to trickle down my face. Then I hit one of those fellows,” Phillips reported.

Grinkowicz was struck through the chest and killed, and the unidentified man known as “Mac” was also slain. Boettcher was apprehended and hospitalized for a punctured lung.

Cline, 42, was quickly transported to a local hospital where his fellow officers and the community waited anxiously as doctors attempted to save his life via blood transfusions donated by his brothers in blue.

U.S. District Attorney Francis Canny told media that if any of the wounded officers died, he’d seek the death penalty for the suspects.

Stenographer Edna Davis Proctor and police officials interview the gunman at the Ohio Penitentiary.

Figuli claimed he never fired a single round. He was the only perpetrator to walk away unwounded, mainly to the fact he spent the duration of the gun battle hiding behind a couch.

Boettcher, 24, and Figuli, 21, were charged and convicted with first-degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution. However, Boettcher died from medical complications April 6, 1938 just two weeks prior to his execution date.

“I’m sorry I plugged those guys, but that’s all I could do,” Boettcher said in a jailhouse interview.

Figuli was strapped to the electric chair and executed at 8 p.m. on Dec. 21, 1938. His mother, Susanna, camped outside the office of Gov. Martin Davey earlier that day in hopes of convincing him to award a stay of execution, but the attempt was futile.

In one bizarre interview, Figuli told reporters the only reason he joined the gang was to get close to Grinkowicz; “The only thing I cared about was getting Vincent. I wanted to kill him. That’s the reason I joined the gang.”

The Columbus Dispatch reported the Figuli held onto a prayer book when seated in the electric chair and his face did not show “the slightest trace of fear.” He also left behind a note for Gov. Davey thanking him for reviewing the case. It was closed by wishing the governor the “Merriest of Xmas.”

Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.