Street to be named for officers killed in 1979, learn what happened

A street in Walnut Hills will be renamed to honor two Cincinnati police officers killed in the line of duty over 40 years ago.

Officers Dennis Bennington and Robert Seiffert were killed March 6,1979 at the corner of Oak and May Street, where the renaming ceremony will take place Friday at 11:30 a.m.

The shooting happened early on a Tuesday morning. Both officers had been searching for the suspect in an armed robbery for months, a man named Gregory Daniels. That morning, Seiffert spotted him driving in Walnut Hills and radioed to Bennington for backup.

The traffic stop was made. As Bennington approached the car from the side, Daniels shot him in the chest then he pointed the gun over his shoulder and fired again striking Seiffert in the head.

"Two shots and two dead police officers," a stunned Lt. Col. Lawrence Whalen said at the time. Whalen would go on to head the department.

Bennington was able to return fire, shooting and killing Daniels.

Bennington was 31 and married with two children. Seiffert was also 31 and married with three children.

In less than a year between 1978 and 1979, four officers would be killed in the line of duty. To put that into perspective, consider that in the past 30 years Cincinnati has had four officers killed.

Two months after Bennington and Seiffert were killed, another officer, Melvin Henze would be killed. This series of deaths would prompt the Cincinnati officers to take the radical step of going on strike for 24 hours and demanding bulletproof vests and more powerful guns and a show of support from city leaders.

They parked their cruisers around City Hall and left the keys in a pile on the sidewalk. City Council would buy vests for all officers and allow the use of the .357 magnum revolver.

Bennington and Seiffert's friends and family will attend the renaming ceremony Friday along with Chief Eliot Isaac and Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman.