John Anderson, #175: Cleveland’s First Black Police Sergeant and Lieutenant
Patrolman Anderson demonstrated his marksmanship capabilities one morning while off duty. Contacted at 6 o’clock at his residence, to a mad dog threatening workers and neighbors on nearby Quincy Street,…
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Secretary of Police Charles S. Smith, Badge Number 6
Written by Cleveland Police Historical Society and Museum volunteer Commander Robert Cermak, Ret.
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Heroes Roll Call: Our February Heroes
The Cleveland Police Museum in honored to tell the stories of our Fallen Officers on the anniversaries of their End of Watch. These officers made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting…
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Heroes Roll Call: Our January Heroes
The Cleveland Police Museum in honored to tell the stories of our Fallen Officers on the anniversaries of their End of Watch. These officers made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting…
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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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Units: Cleveland’s Flying Squads of the 1920s
After the murder of Patrolman Leroy E. Bouker #132 on November 17, 1912, City of Cleveland Mayor Newton D. Baker and Safety Director Charles W. Stage called for a larger…
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Harry Houdini Amazes the Cleveland Police
Famous escape artist and illusionist Harry Houdini toured throughout the country during the early 1900s. Frequently billed as the Handcuff King, he was best known for escaping from manacles, handcuffs…
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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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The Missing History of the Cleveland Mounted Police
While the Mounted Unit of the Cleveland Police officially dates back to 1911, the police in Cleveland utilized horses and even considered forming a mounted squad for several decades before…
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