Death Classification: Line of Duty Death
Agency: Chicago Police Department
Served: 10 years, 0 months, 10 days
Unit of Assignment / Detail: District 2, 4th Precinct - Cottage Grove
District of Incident (Present Day): 001 - Central
Cause of Death: Fall - Down Staircase
Age at Time of Death: 42
Timeline
Date of Birth: 25 May 1856
Date of Appointment: 05 Nov 1888
Date of Incident: 15 Dec 1898
End of Watch: 15 Dec 1898
Date of Interment:
Interment Details
Cemetery: Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery - Chicago, Illinois
Grave Location: Unknown
Interment Disposition: Burial
Memorial Details
Superintendent’s Honored Star Case: Panel # D-10
Gold Star Families Memorial Wall: Panel # 13
Illinois Police Officers Memorial Wall: Panel # 5, Line 5
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Wall:
Officer Down Memorial Page: Listed
Service
Military Service: No Military Record Found
Incident & Biographic Details
Patrolman Bartholomew Cavanaugh, Star # Unknown, aged 42 years, was a 10 year, 0 month, 10 day veteran of the Chicago Police Department, assigned to District 2, 4th Precinct – Cottage Grove.
On December 15, 1898, Officer Cavanaugh was investigating a burglary in a building located at the corner of 22nd Street and Indiana Avenue. He had believed the burglars still to be in the building. While investigating, he went to the rear of the building, while inside an areaway he stumbled and fell down a stair case. He sustained a broken neck and fractured skull as a result of the fall and was found unconscious a short time later by two other police officers. Officer Cavanaugh was transported to Mercy Hospital, but died before arriving.
Officer Cavanaugh was waked at his residence located at No. 3548 5th Avenue (present day 3548 South Wells Street). He was laid to rest in Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, 2755 West 111th Street, Chicago, Illinois.
Patrolman Bartholomew Cavanaugh, born on May 25, 1856, received his Probationary Appointment to the Chicago Police Department on November 5, 1888.
Officer Cavanaugh was survived by his wife, Anne and four children.
Chicago Police Department homicide file not found for this incident.
On July 17, 2018, Officer Cavanaugh’s star was retired by Superintendent of Police Eddie T. Johnson and enshrined in the Superintendent’s Honored Star Case, located in the lobby at Chicago Police Headquarters, 3510 South Michigan Avenue.