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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Early Electric Traffic Signals in Cleveland
Cleveland in the early 1900s was an exciting, thriving, growing and potentially dangerous place. The streets were full of pedestrians, horses, wagons, streetcars and automobiles, which caused traffic jams and…
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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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1978 Ford LTD – Car 611
From 1972-1978, the National Highway Safety Department conducted an experiment with a lime green paint, known as “Safety Green.” The goal was to increase the visibility of safety vehicles (police…
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Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial
The idea for the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial was born at the bar at the CPPA Hall, after the funeral of Cleveland Police Officer Stephan Kovach. The bar was…
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National Police Week
Police officers and the community they served have honored fallen officers since the earliest days of official police departments in the United States but it wasn’t until 1962 that a…
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1949 FORD FORDOR – CAR 313
From 1949-1952, the Ford Fordor became the vehicle of choice for police departments across the country. It was considered a state of the art test bed for the unique advancements…
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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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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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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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19th Century Policing: The Night Toilers
In 1884, the Cleveland Daily Herald ran a feature on the “Night Toilers,” the Cleveland Police officers who patrolled the city’s streets during the evening hours. Below is a transcript…
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Traffic Unit: The Corner Men, Part 8
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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The History of the Cleveland Police Badge
by Lieutenant James J. O’Malley, Jr., Retired The badge is probably the most identifiable feature of the American Police Officer’s uniform. Today in the United States, police officers wear a…
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