In 1925, the township of Parma moved to a village form of
government, at which time the Parma Police Department was founded and moved
into 7510 Snow Road with the Parma Fire Department. The first chief law
enforcement officer was Marshal Tesar, along with two deputy marshals. In 1954,
the Parma police moved into their new location at 5750 West 54th Street, along
with the Parma municipal court.
In 2000, the Parma Police and the Parma Municipal Court moved into
their current location at 5555 Powers Blvd. Currently, the Parma police
department has 113 brave men and women sworn to protect the citizens of Parma.
The department is structured with a full command staff and patrol officers and
several specialized units, such as detectives, K-9, SWAT, Motor unit, Bicycle
unit, Crime Scene, Honor Guard, and Corrections, just to mention a few.
In the summer of 1926, the Parma Police Department lost two
officers in the line of duty. Officer Michael Beuerlien and Officer Clinton
Wolf were killed while on duty performing their jobs. Even though these are the
only two officers the department lost in the line of duty, the department has
suffered several losses over the years due to officers passing before
retirement.
In 1997, the Parma Police Historical Society was formed and
established as a not-for-profit 501(c)3 to preserve the history of the Parma
Police Department, which eventually transformed into the Parma Police
Association in 2007. The Parma Police Association established a new mission: to
preserve the past, support the present, and nurture the future. With the 100th
anniversary swiftly approaching, Chief Blair commissioned a design and planning
committee in 2024 to establish a Police officer memorial for fallen officers.
The Parma Police have resided at their current location for almost
25 years, and many changes have occurred since moving into the building. Over
the past several years, the original landscaping had become overgrown and
unsightly and needed to be removed, leaving the public entrance bleak and
baron. The Parma Police Association is spearheading a donation drive to
complete this endeavor to beautify and memorialize the fallen officers. The
goal of the Parma Police Association is to improve the public entrance to the
Parma Police station and incorporate a fallen officer memorial for those
officers killed in the line of duty, along with a memorial garden for those
officers who passed while on duty. The memorials will honor the brave men and
women committed to protecting and serving the City of Parma.
We hope you will help achieve our goal of the envisioned project
by purchasing a brick paver that will be laid in the main area of the memorial,
with your name or company name, to create a forever lasting memory of your
support of the Parma Police Department and the officers who died committed to
protecting the city of Parma.
Please help us preserve the past, support the present, and nurture
the future with your donation.
For any questions, please contact Det. Lt. Amanda Kaniecki at [email protected]
