Prosecutor: Men convicted of killing officer in 1978 denied parole

Two men who were convicted of murdering a Cincinnati police officer in 1979 and shooting one other person were denied parole, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.

In May, Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers asked members of the public to contact the Ohio Parole Board and express opposition to the parole of Wayne Reed and Russell Bell during a press conference.

According to a release from Powers' office, Bell and Reed shot and killed Officer Charles Burdsall and shot and wounded a 19-year-old civilian who'd been on a ride-along with Burdsall.

On July 14, 1978, an off-duty CPD officer spotted Reed and Bell casing a convenience store at the corner of Dixmyth and McMicken Avenue; that officer alerted CPD and Burdsall, who was patrolling nearby, responded to the store for a possible armed robbery. With Burdsall was a 19-year-old man doing a citizen ride-along as he considered a career in law enforcement, according to Powers.

Bell and Reed fled the scene and Burdsall pursued; Burdsall found the pair's vehicle a short time later, at around 12:10 a.m., and initiated a traffic stop in the 2900 block of West McMicken Avenue.

When Burdsall approached the vehicle, Powers' office said Reed pulled out a gun and shot the officer in the face. Reed then got out of the car and fired two more shots into Burdsall's back as he was on the ground. The 19-year-old civilian got out of the officer's vehicle to assist, and Reed turned and shot him in the back before fleeing with Bell.

Burdsall died later that day, leaving behind a wife and three children.

Bell and Reed were both convicted of aggravated murder and attempted murder charges and were sentenced to death. However, Powers' office said a later ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court deemed the state's death penalty unconstitutional for a period of time, and the sentences for Bell and Reed were reduced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

According to Powers' office, at the time of the ruling, there was no option to sentence convicted criminals to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Ohio.

"These two men murdered Officer Charles Burdsall in cold blood, shooting him execution-style and leaving him to die on the pavement as they drove off," said Powers in a press release. "The fact that they escaped execution for their crimes is shocking."

Both men have been in prison since 1979.

The Prosecutor's office said neither of the men will be eligible for a new parole hearing until 2029.

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