Cleveland, OH - It all began following the funeral of a fellow officer. A handful of police officers in attendance felt the need to find a way to honor police officers that have died in the line of duty and to celebrate the law enforcement profession. There was a need to find a way to do this away from the tragedy that surrounds the death of a police officer that has died in the line of duty. It was then, in 1985, that the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society was formed.
The first recorded death of a law enforcement officer in the Greater Cleveland area was that of John Osborne, a member of the City of Cleveland Night Watch who was murdered in 1853. Since then 186 other “Peace Officers” from our area have died “In the Line of Duty”.
Remembering and honoring those who have given their lives in the service of our community and our Nation is the primary mission of the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society.
For the Last 30 years, the law enforcement community of Greater Cleveland has been joined by their comrades from throughout the State of Ohio, surrounding states and Canada and from as far away as Ireland, Great Brittan, Germany and Turkey, to honor the lives and service of all law enforcement officers, everywhere, who have died In the Line of Duty.
Today the Memorial Society is comprised of law enforcement officers who are active and retired, and their families, friends and supporters who are dedicated to honoring the memories of all officers who have died in the line of duty.
In addition to maintaining the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial, the Society has pledged itself to the following goals:
- Honor all law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
- Provide assistance to families of officers who have died in the line of duty.
- Provide assistance to police officers seriously injured in the line of duty.
- Assist law enforcement agencies with planning and implementation of Line of Duty Death funerals.
- Create a public awareness of the hazards of the law enforcement profession.
- Improve police-community relations.
- Further the law enforcement profession by sponsoring training, and humanitarian programs, as well as educational development such as the Pete Lawer Memorial Scholarship fund
- Following the lead of President John F. Kennedy who declared May 15th as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and the week of May 15th as National Police Week, the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society began organizing events in Cleveland to be held, annually, during that week.
On May 15th 1986 the First Annual Police Memorial Day Parade made its way up West 3rd Street from the old Municipal Stadium to Lakeside Avenue, ending at Ontario St. where everyone gathered on the Justice Center Plaza for our first Memorial Service.
Over the next few years our event grew and evolved and we set our sights on a permanent memorial to honor those of us who have paid the ultimate price in the service of our community.
We worked hard to establish a sound foundation based on our mission and goals. Countless hours were spent identifying those eligible to be placed on the Memorial as we worked toward our objective - building a permanent and lasting memorial. This goal became a reality when the Memorial Society formed a partnership with many business and community leaders in the Greater Cleveland area.
On May 15th, 1992, during our 7th annual memorial service, ground was broken for the construction of the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial in Huntington Park, across from the Justice Center at5 West 3rd Street and Lakeside Avenue. The following year, on May 14, 1993, the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial, was dedicated.
This year the parade will make its way down the newly designated “Police Memorial Way” (Lakeside Ave.) and the parade will end at “Police Memorial Square” (West 3rd St. & Lakeside Ave.
THE MEMORIAL SERVICE
The parade has always ended at the site of the memorial service. The location of the memorial service, however, has changed several times.
Our first few memorial services were held on the plaza outside the Cleveland Police Headquarters building at the Justice Center. The space worked well until the popularity of these events demanded a larger space. The memorial service moved to Mall “C” for a short time and then to its current location at Huntington Park. From that first year at Huntington Park things began to feel right. The well manicured park with its green grass, colorful flower beds and huge trees provided a sense of peace and solitude right in downtown. When the search for a spot to build our memorial began, and after exploring several other downtown locations, it was relatively easy to select Huntington Park as the preferred site for the memorial as soon as it was offered.
Ground breaking for the memorial took place as a part of the memorial service in 1993 and the following year, during an extravagantly moving ceremony, our new memorial was presented the community and dedicated.
In the 30 years that we have held this service we have never been rained out. It has rained up until minutes before the service and it has poured moments after the service ended but for some reason the weather has always held for us. The Memorial serves as a place for survivors and communities to gather and remember now and for decades to come.
TATOO
The most popular event of our annual Peace Officers Memorial Day celebration weekend has always been the Tattoo. The Tattoo evolved from an informal dinner at the CPPA hall to thank our out of town guests for their support. Guests at this first gathering included members of the Chicago Police Emerald Society Pipe Band who provided entertainment, the Memorial Society board, members of the CPPA board and a few special guests.
The following year we opened the dinner to anyone who wanted to come and we sold cheap tickets and drank cheap beer. The pipe band from Chicago was joined by the pipe band from the NYPD and the CPPA hall has never been more crowded…the Tattoo was born!
The Memorial Society formed its own pipe band and the next few years saw the event grow and grow, We outgrew several venue after only one or two years. Fat Glen’s at CSU, Cleveland Center at East 30th & Chester, CSU’s Woodling Gym and the Nautica Stage.
One of the most remarkable Tattoo’s took place at Gray’s Armory when a severe thunderstorm washed out the event at a then uncovered Nautica Stage. Everyone, yes everyone, Memorial Society board members and volunteers, performers and even our paying guests pitched in and moved the entire event to Gray’s Armory in less than an hour, and it was a great show.
With that scare behind us the board decided to move inside to Public Hall. Members of the band built a huge castle that the bands used to enter and exit the performance floor and we even experimented with an indoor fireworks display.
To take the show to the next level we moved to Playhouse Square and for several years moved back and forth between the State and Allen theaters. We made a quick trip back to Nautica Stage, which now is under roof but the rain and cold moved us back indoors the Playhouse Square where we control the weather.
Our 30th Anniversary Tattoo moves back to Public Hall complete with the largest contingent of performers and the widest variety of talent the show has ever seen and a new name – The International Police Tattoo.
Did you know about the midnight parade? The most unusual parade the city has ever seen takes place around ten or eleven o’clock at night after the Tattoo. The parade started as an impromptu act after all the performers marched of the stage at the end of the show. They exited the Public Hall and with no direction what to do next they were led by the drum majors down lakeside avenue and back to the Holiday Inn. The performers were joined by members of the audience and an escort was provided by the Cleveland Police who responded quickly to stop traffic and allow the “parade” the right of way.
The parade has become a tradition looked forward to by performers and audience members alike. To this day no plans are made to orchestrate the parade – it just happens!
Other events hosted during the last 30 years by the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society include the Candlelight Vigil, Fellowship Dinner, Steak Roast, Police Swap Meet and the After Tattoo Party.
Each of these events has the ability to bring smiles to our faces, tears to our eyes, and sometimes both at the same time and for many different reasons. The death of a fellow officer is always devastating, but we have all been left with a special gift - our memories and each other.
As the future unfolds it is our sincere hope that the empty spaces on our memorial remain empty, but in the event of a tragedy we are prepared, as we have been for the last 30 years, to live out our goals and mission to continue to honor and remember those who have died and support those who are left behind.