The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 5

FROM PAGE A1 EM02 Monday, January 5, 1998 A5 The Cincinnati Enquirer Officer: Body not found 4. 4 r. vt ti i ft. -k- scan the Ohio River on Sunday for Covington Police Sgt. Tom Epperson, left, and Officer Roy Sims N.Ky.

officers who died in the line of duty What happened CONTINUED FROM PAGE Al Shawnta Robertson. He had started running from Kenton County Police Officer Brian Kane, working overtime as part of a state traffic enforcement program, when the officer stopped him on West Fourth Street for a traffic violation. As Officer Kane tried to arrest him, Mr. Robertson allegedly ran away. The officer called for help and three Covington officers, including Officer Partin, responded.

Officer -iKane was able to subdue Mr. "Robertson, apparently just as Officer Partin fell from the bridge. Mr. Robertson was charged with driving under the influ-ence and possession of marijuana. He was out of jail by Sunday afternoon but was expected to be in court today.

Investigators talked with of both the com--jmonwealth's and county attor-jmmneys' offices about the ESpossibility. of adding charges 553ecause the chase resulted in art officer's death. A decision had not been made Sunday, said Lt. Col. Jorsey.

body difficult 1Z1 As officials notified Officer Partin's family and began their -investigation into what hap--pened, Search crews continued 50 user a hooked bar to drag iE3hertver bottom: Even though another Covington police offi-cer pinpointed the spot where Officer Partin fell in, finding remains is difficult, said Mike Wise, chief of Campbell County Water Rescue. A body can sink 40 feet in less than two minutes. With jthe water so cold, he said, it could take weeks for it to resurface. The search dogs picked up on the scent of a human body just west of one of the bridge's piers. Crews based their search from there, concentrat-, downriver in a semicircle with a 30-foot radius.

"They're running into a lot problems just dragging it," Chief Wise said, referring to the river bottom being littered vik with debris and trees. He estimated the water's current at 3 to 4 mph. Even lowering a diver can be fruitless, Chief Wise said, light is lost 10 feet below the surface. "In a like that you can't see anything anyhow, so you've to use your hands to sort through," he said. "It's like a blackout." iV" Crowds had gathered by dawn Sunday along both sides of the river to watch the res- cue effort.

Helicopters ered; boats circled in the ter. Private boat owners too. 1st death since 1968 Until Sunday, the Covington force hadn't lost one of its since July 1968, when Donald Ronnebaum was hit by a truck while he was directing Covington Police Lt. Col. Bill 1 Covington Police Officer Mike Partin drives onto the bridge and pulls ahead of Officer Kane and Mr.

Robertson. Officer Partin exits his cruiser and heads to the outer walkway along the bridge. Police say Mr. Robertson saw Officer Partin ahead of him. Officer Partin climbs over a concrete barrier toward the sidewalk and falls in the 3-foot gap between the road and walkway.

Source: Covington Police Department The Cincinnati EnquirerRandy Mazzola ald Jeter and Daniel Pope, both shot by a man the two were seeking on a domestic violence warrant. He killed himself shortly after shooting the officers. Two other Covington officers also responded to help Officer Kane. Though Lt. Col.

Dorsey would not identify The their colleague, Officer Mike Partin. 13. Harry Rose, Covington, Nov. 10, 1938 14. James W.

Smith, Falmouth, Nov. 10. 1943 15. Cleophus Eifert, Covington, Feb. 8, 1946 16.

Robert R. Miller, Kentucky State Police, Feb. 14, 1951 17. Stanley Pitakos, Newport, Oct. 16, 1958 18.

Donald Ronnebaum, Covington, July 26, 1968 19. Billy Franklin Wood, Wil-liamstown, Aug. 8, 1972 20. Anthony E. Jansen, Newport, Dec.

21. John R. Herron, Falmouth, Dec. 20, 1986 22. Thomas A.

Noonan, Highland Heights, Sept. 10, 1988 23. Robert Preston Palmer, Elsmere, Sept. 25, 1990 who died in 1974. It was built that year to relieve some traffic clogging on the Brent SpenceInterstate 75-71 bridge.

Construction workers put a new superstructure on pre-existing piers. The bridge has been the sight of several falls and suicide attempts over the years, most recently during the Labor Day Riverfest celebration. A Hamilton woman fell from the concrete barrier onto a support beam about 20 feet below, the same beam on which Officer Partin's flashlight was found Sunday morn Enquirer file photoPatrick Reddy Officer Mike Partin investigates a tire slashing in Latonia in January 1997. Rookie looked, acted like vet BY GREGORY A. HALL The Cincinnati Enquirer COVINGTON With his flattop crisply cut and wire-rimmed sunglasses, Mike Partin looked like a cop.

The Covington policeman's fall from the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge early Sunday ended what was a short, but promising career in law enforcement. Though his body had not been found as of Sunday evening, the Batavia native is presumed dead after trying to assist a Kenton County officer in an arrest. "He always looked the part, and he always acted the part," said Covington Assistant Chief Lt. Col. Bill Dorsey.

"And for his desire to be a police officer and to make our community better, he gave his life." Officer Partin, 25 of Taylor Mill, leaves a widow, Lisa. They had been married less than a year. Mayor Denny Bowman remembers swearing in Officer Partin on Sept. 9, 1996 in his office conference room one of three men who joined the force that day. Some officers talk a lot or joke when they're sworn in, the mayor said.

But not Officer Partin. "Mike was a real quiet person." Officer Partin impressed Latonia resident Florence Corman almost a year ago when he responded to a call that her car tires had been slashed "He handled the case very well," she said. "He did what he could do. He was very nice. I'm sorry to hear that." Being new on the force, Officer Partin worked the overnight shift typically when many of the worst crimes occur.

But Mayor Bowman and several other sources said Officer Partin was about to get better hours. Even with a better schedule, a policeman's work is inherently dangerous. As an officer's wife, Fran Vallandingham always carries the realization that her husband, Covington Detective Charles Vallandingham, could die in the line of duty. "You just try to suppress it and pray," she said. You just never know if he's going to come through that door." Mrs.

Vallandingham and her husband socialized with Officer Partin and his wife. "He was a very good family man and a very, very good policeman," she said. "He'll be sorely missed." Jane Prendergast contributed. 1-3 The Cincinnati EnquirerGlenn Hartong Searchers work early Sunday at the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge across the Ohio River, looking for Officer Mike Partin. 160 I 1 I i Cincinnati EnquirerGlenn Hartong ing.

Athena Robbins, 25, cut her chin and legs, and waited 90 minutes to be rescued. Quick offers of help The only positive sign officers could find as darkness lifted Sunday morning was the outpouring of help from all over Greater Cincinnati. Boats, search dogs, police officers and firefighters came out from all over Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Up walked deputy jailers, Salvation Army disaster workers, a priest. They all patted police officers' backs and shook their hands.

"We couldn't ask for more support," said Assistant Chief Steve Schmidt. As rescue workers searched the water, Steve Embree of Florence watched from in front of the Waterfront restaurant. A secretary at Mercy Hospital Anderson, he left work at 8 a.m. after listening to scanner traffic about the fall. "Just right on the heels of what happened over in Cincinnati," he said, gesturing across the river and wiping tears from his face.

"It's just too much." Laura Goldberg and Gregory A. Hall contributed to this report. The Cincinnati EnquirerGlenn Hartong "This police officer is a he ro, said Officer Keith Fang-man, the new president of Cincinnati's Fraternal Order of Police. "He was attempting to help another police officer, and the end result was every cop's worst nightmare. "I think it's an absolute tragedy that another police officer has paid the ultimate price." Gregory A.

Hall and Tanya Bricking contributed. 1. John T. Thompson, Covington, Feb. 28, 1869 2.

James Edgar, Newport, Nov. 16, 1884 3. William McQuerry, Covington, June 12, 1900 4. Frank Duncan, Latonia, June 19, 1908 5. Christopher Kolhoven, Newport, July 11, 1917 6.

Jule Plummer, Campbell County sheriff, Oct. 27, 1917 7. David B. Rogers, Covington, May 13, 1923 8. Anthony Siemon, Newport, April 21, 1924 9.

Benjamin F. Law, Covington, Jan. 5, 1925 10. William Tressler, Fort Thomas constable, Sept. 20, 1928 11.

August Schoo, Newport, June 14, 1930 12. Neil Regan, Covington, Nov. 11, 1932 them, he said one of them saw Officer Partin fall. All three surviving officers talked to a psychologist Sunday morning. Sunday's events marked a role reversal for the two departments Covington officers had been among the many who attended the Cincinnati visitations.

Now they were the ones who need support. Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Tim Schoch said his department would give back exactly the kind of help it got last month. The Bailey bridge is named for a Kentucky newspaperman The Cincinnati EnauirerSaed Hlndash and a team," he said, "and there's definitely a sense of loss on my part." Assistant Covington Police Chief Steve Schmidt marked his 24th year on the force last week and noted he hoped to finish his career without an incident like the Dec. 5 shootings of Cincinnati Officer Daniel Pope and Spc.

Ronald Jeter. But he was awakened about 3 a.m. Sunday to learn one of his third-shift charges, a 25-year-old, was believed to be dead. Kenton County Officer Brian Kane stops Shawnta Robertson Cincinnati, on West Fourth Street in Covington, after Mr. Robertson allegedly ran a red light.

During arrest, Mr. Robertson flees on foot. Officer Kane calls for backup and runs after the suspect. Cincinnati: -Clay Wade Bailey Bridge 4ft 1 St. I COVINGTON traffic on Interstate 75.

Officer Partin's death marked the ninth for the department since 1869, when City Marshal John T. Thompson was killed near the foot of the suspension bridge. But it was just a month ago' todaywhen the Cincinnati Police Division lost officers Ron Dorsey reflects during a news he is presumed to have drowned early Sunday in the cold Ohio River after falling from the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. He fell into the water wearing a black band across his own silver badge. The death, though in very different circumstances, again rocked Greater Cincinnati.

"My prayers go out to the family and friends of the officer," said Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Quails. "In the course of a month, we've lost three A i' Covington Police Spc. Ann Haegele hugs Officer Chris Perry near the site where Officer Mike Partin fell Sunday. Boats, search dogs, police officers and firefighters poured in from Greater Cincinnati to assist in the search. Sunday should have been the day Tristate officers could remove black bands from their badges, the end of a 30-day mourning period for two fallen Cincinnati officers.

conference Sunday afternoon on the loss of his officer. Off icers mourn Tristate police community suffers another blow "It's just not a call you ever want to get, he said. The news hit hard with Barb Cook, who works with officers as liaison for the city's neighborhood watch program: "He deserves as much admiration for doing his job as if he'd been killed in any other way." The same support Covington showed Cincinnati last month attending funerals and expressing sympathy will be returned, Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Tim Schoch said. officers killed in the line of duty.

"And his death reminds us again that the men and women who serve our communities as law enforcement officers make a tremendous sacrifice, and for some, that means their lives." Covington Commissioner Jim Eggemeier likened the search scene around the Waterfront restaurant Sunday morning, with dozens of somber officers milling around, to a funeral home visitation. "I feel that we're a family BY JANE PRENDERGAST The Cincinnati Enquirer COVINGTON Sunday should have been the day Tri- state police officers could remove the black bands from their badges, the end of a mourning period for two fallen Cincinnati officers. But the black bands will stay month, this time for rookie Covington Officer Mike Partin. On the force just 15 months,.