Peace Officers Memorial Day Remembers Doylestown Officer That Fell In 1914

It was midday on September 22, 1914, when Doylestown Constable Henry Kolbe served a warrant and arrested a forgery suspect near the train station.

Kolbe was taking the suspect in to be booked when the man the man turned and shot him in the chest. The pair were near the intersection of West Ashland and Hamilton Street.

The suspect turned and attempted to flee, but was subdued by people that worked at the warehouse nearby.

“They (the workers) came out running and wrestled the suspect to the ground,” Central Bucks police Chief Jim Donnelly said.

But for Kolbe, 53, it was too late.

He became the only law enforcement officer in Doylestown history to fall in the line of duty.

Kolbe’s legacy was remembered Friday by the Borough of Doylestown on Peace Officers Memorial Day, a national holiday commemorating law enforcement officers that have sacrificed their lives for the safety and security of communities around the country.

Kolbe’s sacrifice was not publicly recognized until recently discovered in records at the Doylestown Historical Society.

“Chief Donnelly is the man that made all this happen,” said Jim Davis, Borough Manager.

Donnelly says that the credit belongs to a woman who volunteers at the Historical Society.

“Officer Steve White’s wife volunteers there,” Donnelly said. “She found it and sent it over to us.”

It was Donnelly, however, that worked to get Kolme’s name added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

And last fall, on September 22nd, 2014, the 100th anniversary of Kolme’s murder, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at his grave in Doylestown.

Davis shared pictures from the ceremony on social media on Friday.

Kolbe is one of over 20,000 officers that have been killed in the line of duty in U.S. history, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Every year, there are about 60,000 assaults on law enforcement officers, leading to 16,000 injuries.

Peace Officers Memorial Day comes at the end of National Police Week. Both were signed into law in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy.

Each year, departments around the country and in Washington D.C. hold events and ceremonies which commemorate the men and women that have died to keep the nation safe.