On September 5, 1916 at 9:30 pm, Officer William Spangler was shot and killed while investigating a suspicous person.

Officers Spangler and C.E. Bricker, both in plain clothes on assignment to address a number of street robberies in the area when they stopped a suspicious person at Harrison near 28th Street. The suspect, Glenn White, a train porter, retrieved an automatic pistol from his shoe and shot Officer Spangler, the bullet passing entirely through his abdomen. Officer Bricker sustained a gunshot would to his leg. Officer Bricker grabbed the suspects gun hand and turned it toward the suspect who continued firing resulting in the suspect being fatally wounded. Officer Spangler died of his wounds September 8, 1916, at St. Mary's Hospital.

Officer Spangler became a probationary patrolman May 21, 1915, and a regular patrolman later that year. He worked out of the Walnut Street station in plain clothes at the time of his death, and had been active in catching holdup men and in vice raids. He was with the police department for two years.

Officer William Arthur Spangler, 30, was survived by his wife. Interred: Forest Hill Cemetery.

Article by Brent Marchant