Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Philip Maher suffered a fatal heart attack after lifting a motorcycle off of a man who had just crashed.
Sometime before noon on May 29, 1975, Patrolman Maher ran more than a city block to aid a young man involved in a motorcycle accident at the intersection of 152nd and Lakeshore Blvd. After stopping traffic, he quickly assisted the young man over the curb out of harm’s way. He proceeded to go back and pick up the motorcycle and steered it off of the street. Officer Maher called for an ambulance and waited with the victim until help arrived. He then walked back to his corner just in time to cross the children at the noon hour.
Soon after the above incident, Officer Maher collapsed while crossing the children from Memorial and St. Jerome schools. He was rushed by ambulance to Euclid General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Patrolman Maher was a United States Army World War II veteran and had served with the Cleveland Police Department for 26 years.
As a tribute to him, the square at 152nd Street and Lakeshore Blvd. was renamed Maher Square. A stone monument was placed in his honor from donations collected by the Waterloo Beach Homeowner’s Association, neighbors, and the school children. It reads: “This memorial is dedicated to Patrolman Philip Maher in grateful appreciation for his many years of service to our community. Erected by his fellow citizens.”
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and five children, and four siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-62E233FA- 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.
Patrolman Maher gave the Cleveland Division of Police 26 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cleveland community. Thank you 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
Phillip Patrick Maher served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Patrolman Phillip Patrick Maher is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 43 of 991 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Cleveland Division of Police, 3 of 119 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Phillip Patrick Maher's cause is highlighted.
How Phillip Patrick Maher Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Phillip Patrick Maher is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
118 officers from Cleveland Division of Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
