The Cleveland Police Museum is honored to tell the stories of our Fallen Officers on the anniversaries of their End of Watch.
Herman F. Reimer was appointed to the Cleveland Police Department on January 1, 1910. Just over a year later, patrolled the area of East 35th and Perkins Avenue, an area beset with “dangerous characters.”
His first stop was the Royal Laundry, which occupied a corner site, where he saw someone run in the side door. Believing that the person was a driver, Reimer exchanged a few words with the night watchman and was on his way, whistling a tune. Not a minute later, a shot rang out.
The night watchman heard someone shout, “My God, I’ve been shot! Let me go, oh, let me go.” As he ran to the door, he saw Reimer staggering around the corner, clutching his breast. With a deep groan Herman Reimer fell headlong into a mud puddle, groaning, “They’ve done for me.” Investigators believed Reimer suspected trouble, because his night stick was drawn. Reimer was shot in the heart, doctors believing the killers used his badge as their target due to the dim light of the January night.
Herman Reimer was survived by his wife Charlotte and year and half old daughter, Dorothy. Reimer also left behind his mother, father, two sisters and a brother.
