The Cleveland Police Museum is honored to tell the stories of our Fallen Officers on the anniversary of their End of Watch.
Patrolman Warren Leroy Stainbrook was appointed to the Cleveland Police Department on February 1, 1927. He was assigned to the Fourth Precinct and lived on East 121st Street at the time of his death.
Longtime partners William Hudec and William Stainbrook worked a Police ambulance and were called “wagon men”. On August 30, 1955, Hudec and Stainbrook had just completed an assignment and were returning to the District when the fatal accident occurred.
of a fire, March 1936
Witnesses stated the ambulance approached the railroad crossing at East 91st Street, hesitated, and then proceeded across the tracks. Moving too fast to stop, a train struck the left side of the vehicle, throwing it into the air and causing both men to be thrown out.
Neighbors called the emergency police number for help but confusion broke out when radio dispatch attempted to call Stainbrook to dispatch his ambulance to the scene. Both Stainbrook and Hudec were pronounced dead on arrival when transported to St. Luke’s Hospital.
Warren Stainbrook was survived by his wife Rose; son, Leroy Curtis; and grandson, Bruce Warren. Services were held at the Wm. A. Nunn & Son Funeral Home, 2690 East Blvd, with interment at Acacia Park Cemetery.