Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Elmer Hafer was struck by a truck after telling the truck driver to move one mile west of Aberdeen. The driver was parked on the side of US 52 and sleeping when Chief Hafer woke him. As Chief Hafer returned to his vehicle, the trucker struck him. Chief Hafer was taken to the hospital and died six days later. Chief Hafer's father, Constable Lee Hafer of the Huntington Township Constable's Office, was killed in the line of duty two years earlier when he was also struck by a truck on Route 52. Chief Hafer had witnessed his father's death. Chief Hafer was United States Army WWII veteran.
Survivors
He was survived by his daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-48ABDF43- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Chief of Police Hafer served with the Aberdeen Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Aberdeen community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Elmer Roscoe Hafer served in the Other before joining law enforcement.
Chief of Police Elmer Roscoe Hafer is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Elmer Roscoe Hafer's cause is highlighted.
How Elmer Roscoe Hafer Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Elmer Roscoe Hafer is highlighted in Dec.