Harold O. Olson
| OFFICER HAROLD O. OLSON |
| Appointed October 1,1940 |
| Died August 9, 1941 |
 On August 9, 1941, Minneapolis police motorcycle patrolman Harold OLSON died at General Hospital at 2:50 a.m. of injuries he suffered on August 5th, when his motorcycle crashed into a truck as he was chasing a speeder.After the accident, Officer Olson gave police a complete description of the car he was chasing, saying it was traveling about 65 miles an hour at Forty-Sixth and Lyndale Avenue North. Officer OLSON’S motorcycle was going about 55 miles an hour when he struck the truck. He was catapulted through the air by the impact and suffered head injuries and a broken shoulder and Officer OLSON struck the truck of a driver who made a left turn off Lyndale Avenue into a driveway which police said was unauthorized and which had been ordered closed July 21st by the City Engineer’s office. The driver of the truck said he made the turn after the speeder passed him, but he did not see the motorcycle officer. Officer OLSON struck the rear of the truck. Police said the driver would not be prosecuted. Officer OLSON was 32 years old and had been on the police force only 10 months. He resided at 3443 Twenty-Fifth Avenue South with his wife. Funeral services were held at Bethel Lutheran Church, Seventeenth Avenue South and Thirty-Second Street, with burial in Lakewood Cemetery on August 11, 1941. |
