Thank you, Officer

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Nancy Berry Leusner was just 5 years old when her father died in 1938, so she doesn’t have many specific memories of him.
Her mother and two older brothers helped fill in the gaps.
"They said what a wonderful man he was. Any time he went out, he took me with him," she said.
Henry D. Berry, who lived in Oxford Circle, was a Philadelphia police officer who worked a foot patrol in the former 8th district (now the 6th).
In the early afternoon of March 17, 1938 — St. Patrick’s Day — he was crossing students from the old Mary Channing Lister School when a woman ran up to him and screamed, "Get that man! He just held up a store."
William Kelly, 30, had robbed Max Perlstein’s jewelry store at 1018 W. Girard Ave. He didn’t get far, as Berry nabbed him at Eighth and Parrish streets.
The officer took a .38-caliber revolver from Kelly and placed it in his pocket. He asked a truck driver passing by to take him and the prisoner to the police station at 10th and Buttonwood streets.
As Berry went to open the door, Kelly broke free and took out a .25-caliber automatic pistol he was hiding in his coat sleeve. He shot the officer in the upper chest at point-blank range and fled.
Berry held on to Kelly’s coat, and officers responding to the scene found a card indicating that the gunman lived in a rooming house in West Philadelphia. They arrested him later that afternoon, but not before he pulled a gun on them. The suspect confessed to the crime while recovering from five bullet wounds at Misericordia Hospital.
Meanwhile, Berry was fighting for his life with his wife Anna at his side at Hahnemann Hospital. More than 50 police officers from his district visited the hospital to donate blood. But the nine-year police veteran died March 30, his 37th birthday.
After a viewing at his home at 1428 Van Kirk St., officers carried his casket along Roosevelt Boulevard to St. Martin of Tours Church for a full military funeral.
Last week, a plaque was dedicated in Berry’s memory. The plaque is installed in the sidewalk of what is now the East Poplar Playground. Seventy years ago, the Eighth and Parrish area was a thriving business district. The Lister school is now the police department’s forensic science center.
The plaque program is coordinated by attorney Jimmy Binns, who organizes tributes befitting a fallen officer. The event was hosted by WOGL (98.1 FM) personality Bob Pantano and featured a color guard, a bugler and the Philadelphia Police and Fire Pipes and Drums band. Some of the recent graduates from the Philadelphia Police Academy were in attendance, as were First Deputy Police Commissioner Patricia Giorgio-Fox and City Councilman Jack Kelly.
Fox presented to Nancy Berry Leusner a pillow that included the words inscribed on the plaque, and the ceremony was videotaped so the family can have a lasting memory of the day. Monsignor Michael Mannion blessed the plaque.
"This is unbelievable," Berry Leusner said. "It’s such a wonderful tribute."
Henry and Anna Berry raised three children — William, Harry and Nancy — on Van Kirk Street. Only Nancy survives. The Berrys have eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Harry Berry worked tirelessly in the 10 years before his death to have an official memorial for his dad.
"Today, that dream has come true," said Maureen Drumm, a Pine Valley resident and daughter of Harry Berry.
Drumm and her husband Chris attended the April 9 ceremony with their daughters Bridget, Maura, Caitlin and Erin. She appreciates that her grandfather’s name is included on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., but she is happy that he has also been honored locally.
"This was such a nice tribute and such a great honor," she said. "It’s so nice that my children know that he was a hero. The plaque will be permanently here, and we can come down and see it."
The Berry plaque is the 48th that has been dedicated. National Penn Bank was the sponsor.
The cement masons union installed the plaque in the ground, while the electricians union provided the catering at the ceremony.
Binns said the ground is hallowed and will never be disturbed.
"A hero died here protecting the citizens of Philadelphia," he said.
Giorgio-Fox, a onetime commander of the 6th district, said the ceremonies are important for the families of slain officers.
"Your grandfather and great-grandfather was a hero," she told Berry’s kin.
Kelly paid for his crime. It took a jury just 42 minutes to convict him of first-degree murder on June 15, 1938, less than three months after the shooting. He was ordered to die.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court set aside the verdict because of defects in the judge’s instructions to the jury and the cross-examination of the prosecutor.
In a retrial, Kelly was convicted again on March 9, 1939. He died in the electric chair in 1940.
Judge Harry S. McDevitt praised the jury, saying, "You have given notice that persons cannot prowl in our streets with guns, killing others." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com