The Cleveland Police Museum is honored to tell the stories of our Fallen Officers on the anniversaries of their End of Watch.
Patrolman Frank Moranz joined the Cleveland Police Department on February 1, 1917, serving in the Third District.
On Thursday, September 24, 1919, while patrolling Cleveland’s downtown district just before midnight, Patrolman Frank Moranz encountered a suspicious male loitering in an alley near Prospect and Ontario Avenues. As Patrolman Moranz approached to question the male, a second subject attacked him from behind. A struggle ensued at which time the male gained control of Moranz’s service revolver, shooting him three times. Patrolman Moranz was transported to Huron Road Hospital with gunshot wounds to the left lung, left side and in the back. Officer Moranz died from his injuries Saturday, September 26, 1919.
Officer Moranz was survived by his wife Catherine Moranz (nee Brennan), his parents, two brothers and two sisters. Services were held at the Church of Our Lady of Good Council and he was interred at Calvary Cemetery.
During the investigation, a man’s stick pin was recovered at the crime scene in the alley. The fingerprints on the pin led police to Frank Rodgers, who was apprehended in North Carolina ten years later. Frank Rodgers was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
