George H. Ballard #265 – Cleveland’s First Black Police Captain
George Herbert Ballard was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 10, 1910 to Francis I. Ballard and Anna A. Green. He attended Cleveland public schools and was a better than…
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WE MUST NEVER FORGET: The Tragedy of Glenville, July 23, 1968
On July 23rd, 1968, three Cleveland Police Officers and one civilian “Good Samaritan” gave their lives protecting the residents of Cleveland. Twelve other Officers and a Police Tow Truck Driver…
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President Abraham Lincoln’s Honor Guard – A Cleveland Police Connection
After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, a funeral train transported Lincoln’s remains over 1600 miles, through seven states, to Springfield, Illinois. The funeral train arrived in Cleveland…
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Eliot Ness’ Raid on the Harvard Club in January, 1936
In the mid 1930’s, Cleveland was a city with a crime problem. City leaders knew they needed help to clean up the streets of Cleveland, which had gotten a national…
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First Uniforms for Cleveland Policewomen, 1957
In the 1950s, Cleveland’s policewomen advocated for uniforms like those worn by policewomen in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. In the fall of 1956, the department tested possible…
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Rose Constant: Cleveland’s First Female Officer
During her tenure, Mrs. Constant found deplorable conditions in many of the factories and stores she inspected. “One shop in which many young girls were employed had no drinking water…
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Police Buildings: Women’s Bureau HQ/18th Precinct from 1925-1953, 3735 Cedar Avenue
That same year, the City of Cleveland started the process of purchasing the old hospital building to serve as “a new detention home for girls and headquarters” for the newly…
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Women in the CPD
Women have a long and honorable history of service in the Cleveland Police Department. That service began in 1893 when the Chief Henry Hoehn established the Police Matron’s Service. The…
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Lloyd Patterson: Cleveland’s First Black Deputy Chief
Lloyd Patterson was born to Ambrose and Willa Byrd Patterson in 1931. They resided in Cleveland, Ohio, living at 8128 Central Ave. and 6005 Quincy Ave. Lloyd attended the Cleveland…
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John Anderson, #175: Cleveland’s First Black Police Sergeant and Lieutenant
Patrolman Anderson demonstrated his marksmanship capabilities one morning while off duty. Contacted at 6 o’clock at his residence, to a mad dog threatening workers and neighbors on nearby Quincy Street,…
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Eliot Ness’s “Save a Life for Christmas” campaign
When Eliot Ness became Cleveland’s Public Safety Director, Cleveland had the highest traffic fatality rate in the country. Ness developed a four-pronged approach to address this sad safety record: creation…
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The First Mr. Jingeling
Did you know that the very first Mr. Jingeling was a Cleveland Police Officer? Seems that back in the day, many of the department stores in downtown Cleveland used Police…
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Harry Houdini Amazes the Cleveland Police
Famous escape artist and illusionist Harry Houdini toured throughout the country during the early 1900s. Frequently billed as the Handcuff King, he was best known for escaping from manacles, handcuffs…
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Shondor Birns: A Look Into the Mobster’s Life and Gruesome Death
Cleveland maintained a substantial underground crime network for much of the 20th century. Home to ambitious and often violent mobsters, the Greater Cleveland area witnessed countless conflicts over various forms…
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Traffic Unit: The Corner Men, Part 9
In 1921 the Cleveland Plain Dealer introduced to their readers the Cleveland Police Officers assigned the difficult task of directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the city each day. They…
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