The Cleveland Police Museum is honored to tell the stories of our Fallen Officers on the anniversaries of their End of Watch.
Patrolman Edward Morris Parker was appointed to the Cleveland Police Department on February 4, 1911.
Parker attempted to disperse a crowd of angry Italian workers who were striking for better wages. Parker approached a man believed to be the ringleader and as the man grabbed Parker, Parker hit him over the head with his club, breaking it.
Parker reached for his revolver in his right hip pocket and a man shot him over the heart. Rising on one knee, Parker fired three shots at his fleeing murderer. Witnesses said the man who killed Patrolman Parker shot through his coat pocket before Parker could draw his gun. Parker’s last words were “My God” as he dropped under a railroad crossing gate. Two bystanders picked up Parker and rushed him to the hospital, where he died a few minutes later.
Patrolman Parker was survived by a wife Kathryn N. and his daughter Geraldine C. On Saturday, June 22, 1912, at 2 pm, Mass was held at Edward Parker’s late residence located on Franklin Avenue and he was laid to rest at the Lake View Cemetery.
