Fallen officers from Washington County and Mon Valley get long-overdue honor
The National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Acting Monessen police Chief Michael Entinger
Charleroi Patrolman George T. Arnold
Houston Officer James McCarl
They served their communities so long ago that most members of their own police departments don’t know their names or how they died in the line of duty.
But five fallen police officers who served their Washington County communities, along with two from Monessen in Westmoreland County, will have their names placed on the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C., in May.
Officers to be recognized are California Borough Chief Charles Pender, who died April 26, 1904; Charleroi Patrolman George T. Arnold, who died March 29, 1943; East Bethlehem Township Chief Louis VanDever, who died Aug. 21, 1927; Houston Officer James A. McCarl, who died Aug. 13, 1916, and Monongahela Officer Isiah “Zed” Haywood, who died Jan. 29, 1907. Monessen officers being remembered on the wall are Michael Entinger, acting police chief, who died March 8, 1913, and Alexander Vought Jr., who was killed Nov. 30, 1918.
The seven officers will be getting the long-overdue recognition thanks to the efforts of Rocky Geppert, a volunteer case investigator who researches line-of-duty deaths. He has done it for about 10 years for Allegheny County and in recent years branched out to include other areas.
“It is a very long, drawn-out process that can be tedious,” Geppert said. “I research using keywords like officer and killed, looking for any news stories.”
Once Geppert gets a name, he contacts the chief from that department and tries to find relatives of the fallen officer. Then there is paperwork to be filled out and submitted for approval to the national organization.
Pender, 31, was electrocuted when he tried to remove two downed power lines from a road. Pender, who was survived by his wife, had been with the California department for 10 months after serving with Pennsylvania Railroad police and Pittsburgh police.
California police Chief Rick Encapera knew nothing about Pender or his death until Geppert contacted the borough.
The 43-year-old Arnold suffered a heart attack while making an arrest at a domestic dispute at a house on Prospect Avenue on March 29, 1943.
Charleroi Regional police Chief Eric Porter said he went back and talked with the longest-living members of the department.
“Some of them had some recollections,” Porter said. “We were able to find some relatives and gave them Rocky’s contact information.”
VanDever died Aug. 21, 1927, after crashing his police motorcycle into an oncoming car while pursuing a hit-and-run driver. An article published the following day in the Pittsburgh Press indicated he and a state police private were chasing a driver who struck 12-year-old Elizabeth Blackburn in front of her Millsboro home. He tried to pass another vehicle on a curve when he collided head-on with the oncoming car. VanDever, 55, had been with the department for 13 years.
Current Chief Mark Pompe had heard a rumor about an officer dying but did not know his name or details until contacted by Geppert. He said the only mention in meeting minutes is that the board of commissioners approving paying for repairs to the motorcycle, with no mention of the chief’s death, Pompe said.
“It would be nice to name a street or something after him,” Pompe added.
A story from the Canonsburg Daily Notes indicated McCarl died in his home of internal injuries after he was kicked in the stomach by Dominic Note. McCarl was placing Note, who was drunk, in the borough’s lockup after being taken into custody for being disorderly on a borough street.
McCarl had stooped over to unlock the cell when Note “kicked him viciously in the abdomen.” Note was “run down by a posse of citizens” and eventually taken to Washington. The death of McCarl, a Greene County native, was ruled a homicide.
“This was way before my time,” said Mayor Joe Stubenbordt. “I even asked former Councilman John Pagano, who is in his 90s, and he never heard of it before, either. But it is very interesting to find out. I don’t think any of the officer’s family still lives around here.”
Haywood, too, suffered a fatal heart attack while on duty as he and another officer fought with four men they were arresting at a local saloon. They had placed two culprits in the cell and were going back to take the other two into custody when one of them assaulted Haywood. The 64-year-old who had been on the job for two years was able to put the suspect in the cell and close the door before collapsing.
“Apparently they were bringing in ruffians from a local watering hole and one hit him,” said Chief Brian Tempest.
Entinger, 52, was shot and killed by a man who he and other officers were trying to arrest at a brothel in Wireton. Police had a warrant for the suspect accused of forcing his 16-year-old daughter to work as a prostitute. The suspect fled by was caught two days later by a state constable in Scottdale. The shooter was Noah Hough, a former Belle Vernon officer. Hough, who claimed that his pistol accidentally discharged, was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 13 to 20 years in prison.
Vought, 40, was shot and killed after questioning several men at a restaurant near Schoonmaker Avenue and 14th Street. He was shot in the back after leaving the restaurant. Vought had been with Monessen for 8 1/2 years after working with the state police for eight years following a stint in the U.S. Army.
Vought and Entinger are the second and third Monessen officers to be honored at the memorial. Officer Spiro Galanoudi, who was struck and killed Oct. 10, 1973, by the driver of a stolen vehicle while directing traffic, also has his name on the wall.
“I have to give Rocky all the credit,” said Chief John Mandarino. “He researched all those names. Even the old-timers did not even know about them.”
For Geppert, this year’s ceremony will be particularly gratifying. Monroeville police Sgt. Andrew Rusbarsky, related to Geppert’s mother through marriage, will have his name placed on the memorial. Geppert said it took almost 10 years to get Rusbarsky’s name approved for inclusion. Rusbarsky died in 1968 from complications of injuries suffered 14 years earlier when he was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic.