Cops with Hops: Cleveland Police playing basketball
In 2022, the NBA All Star Game returned to Cleveland. Our Cleveland Police are no strangers to the hardwood. Since at least 1935, Cleveland police officers have excelled on and…
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Patrolman William M. Tucker, #45: Cleveland’s First Black Police Officer
Wiggins’ research revealed that Officer Tucker headed north after the Civil War. On the way, he met Colonel John F. Herrick, Commander of the Twelfth Ohio Calvary. Colonel Herrick offered…
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Introducing “Nitro Nelly”: Portable Bomb Shield
When Richard R. Wagner was appointed Chief of the Cleveland Division of Police, one of his goals was ensure that his officers had the safest equipment available. To that end,…
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Third District Headquarters: 1938 to today
When Eliot Ness reorganized the police department in 1938, he transitioned the force from what had been eighteen precincts into five, larger districts, which were further divided into 32 zones.…
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A century in the saddle: Cleveland Mounted Police Unit has performed, protected, and saved lives
This article originally was published in FreshWater Cleveland’s Feb. 20 edition. Tom Matowitz writes Cleveland Masterworks for FreshWater every Thursday. Author Thomas Matowitz is on the Board of Trustees for the Cleveland Police…
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Traffic Unit: The Corner Men, Part 7
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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Traffic Unit: The Corner Men, Part 6
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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The History of Commando, the Cleveland Police Museum’s horse
In 1983, Schneider’s Saddlery and Western Wear donated a black horse mannequin to the Cleveland Police Museum for a Mounted Unit exhibit titled “Working Partners”. The mannequin, a hollow fiberglass…
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The Vigilant: Cleveland Police’s First Boat
Beginning in the early 1900s, Chief of Police Frederick Kohler recommended to the Cleveland City Council that a naphtha patrol boat be purchased to safeguard the river and lake fronts. …
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East Ohio Gas Explosion, October 20, 1944: Police Response and Report
On the afternoon of October 20, 1944, disaster struck Cleveland. An explosion at the East Ohio Gas Company complex near East 55th and St. Clair Avenue killed over 160 people…
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Second District Headquarters, 3481 Fulton Road, built 1955
When Eliot Ness reorganized the police department in 1938, he transitioned the force from what were then eighteen precincts into five, larger districts which were further divided into 32 zones. …
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First District, 3895 W 130th St, 1973-present
When Eliot Ness reorganized the police department in 1938, he transitioned the force from what were then eighteen precincts into five, larger districts which were further divided into 32 zones. …
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