Sergeant Patrick J. O'Donnell, DSN 1675, badge number 633, was originally hired on 10/30/1933 as a prison guard at Police Headquarters at 1200 Clark Avenue. He remained in this commissioned position for a very short time and subsequently entered the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Academy.

After completion of the academy, his first uniformed assignment was the 8th District on May 1, 1934. He remained in the Deer Street District until he was promoted to the rank of Corporal on July 1, 1947. After his promotion to corporal, he was transferred to the Bureau of Investigation at police headquarters downtown. In this capacity as a Corporal of Detectives, the assignments covered a very wide range of crimes that produced some of the best detectives in the State of Missouri.

On November 11, 1950, Corporal O'Donnell was promoted to the command rank of Sergeant. Surprisingly, in the history of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department, very few officers that get promoted remain in their current assignment after a promotion. This was the case for Sergeant O'Donnell, as it was proved to his peers and the upper command staff of the department that he had the leadership and command qualities to head the Bureau of Investigation at Police Headquarters.

Some years later, on August 1, 1954, he was transferred to the 12th District as a uniformed Sergeant in charge of a Uniformed Line Platoon. He remained there until September 16,1957, when he was transferred to the 6th District, also known as the Ruskin Avenue District. Sergeant O'Donnell was transferred again to the 5th District on December 1, 1958, and then back to the 6th District on March 18,1964. It should be noted that transferees such as these in the latter part of Sergeant O'Donnell's career meant that he was sent to these districts on the direct orders of the Chief of Police to clean up a higher-than-normal crime rate to stop cause for further complaints.

During his career, Sergeant O'Donnell was awarded 2 letters of an honorable mention from the Honorable Board of Police Commissioners for police work above the call of duty. These were awarded on January 20, 1948 and November 26, 1949 while he was assigned to the Bureau of Investigation.

Sergeant O'Donnell retired from the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department on September 11, 1966, after 32 years, 10 months, and 12 days of faithful and dedicated service.

It should be noted that Sergeant O'Donnell's 2 grandsons followed in his footsteps and went into the field of law enforcement.

Chief Robert M. Brady, DSN 161, retired as the Chief of Police for the Northwoods Police Department, and another grandson, Detective Sergeant Daniel W. Brady, DSN 289, retired from the University City Police Department. Both of these agencies are located in St. Louis County, Missouri. A granddaughter, Tracy M. Brady, D.M. 17228, serves with the Saint Louis Fire Department working in the E.M.S. Division.

At the time of his death, Sergeant O'Donnell was survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary Ellen (nee Kelly) O'Donnell, of the home located at 6659 Kingsbury Avenue in University City, Missouri.

Sergeant O'Donnell was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Ambrose and Margaret A. (nee Welsch) O'Donnell.