1938-02-05 Cline Robert R
Detective Robert R. Cline
Entered Division of Police
February 1, 1927
Died In the Line of Duty
February 5,1938
Detective Robert R. Cline became a member of the police force on February 1, 1927, and was killed in the line of duty, February 5, 1938. In one of the most sensational bank robberies and gun battles in the history of the Columbus Police Department, Detective Cline was shot to death, and Detective Leo Phillips and William Danner were wounded. The officers and Detective Robert Cooke cornered the bandits in a Guilford Avenue rooming house on the Hilltop following the robbery of a West Side bank. Three bandits were slain and the fourth, Stephen Figuli, was electrocuted in the Ohio Penitentiary, December 21, 1938.