PGPD Remembers Fallen Officer Charles Caldwell

Let us pause to remember our fallen hero Officer Charles F. Caldwell, lost this day in 1948.

Officer Caldwell was born on January 12, 1912, in Washington, DC. He was raised in Mount Rainier and graduated from Mount Rainier High School. Officer Caldwell joined the Prince George's County Police Department on July 13, 1943, and was assigned to the Hyattsville district station.

On the evening of June 12, 1948, at about 6:00 pm, Officer Caldwell and his partner responded to a fight complaint on Nash Street in Fairmount Heights. When they arrived, Officer Caldwell arrested a female suspect for assault. As he escorted her to his cruiser, Officer Caldwell was attacked by her father.  The father grabbed the officer's weapon and opened fire, hitting Officer Caldwell three times in the chest. His partner was shot in the arm and leg. Officer Caldwell was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

Officer Caldwell served the Prince George's County Police Department for five years and was the second member of this agency to make the ultimate sacrifice.  He was the fourth law enforcement officer to give his life in service to this profession within Prince George's County.

At the time of his death, Officer Charles Caldwell was 36 years old and survived by his wife and two young sons.