Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John Tomasch died as a result of complications from influenza while performing his assigned duties during the Influenza Pandemic.
During the Influenza Pandemic, the Cleveland Division of Police was tasked with enforcing local health laws designed to stop the spread of influenza. Many of the new health laws prohibited public gatherings, closed private and public schools, banned public funerals, and required proper ventilation in public and private spaces. Many officers were also tasked as ambulance drivers to transport victims to and from hospitals. Patrolmen who were assigned as ambulance drivers responded to an average of 40 calls per shift.
Patrolman Tomasch was survived by his wife and four children.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman John Tomasch died on October 20, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 33.
He is one of 201 officers honored here, and one of 6 at Cleveland Division of Police.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people worldwide than the war that preceded it. Police officers worked it without vaccines, without antibiotics, and often without masks, enforcing quarantines, transporting the sick, and standing posts in cities where the dead outpaced the undertakers.
They caught it doing the job. There was no treatment to give them.
Survivors
Patrolman Tomasch was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-006F62D8- 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
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Patrolman Tomasch served with the Cleveland Division of Police.
Thank you for your service to the Cleveland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Tomasch.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John Tomasch is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 49 of 991 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.2 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Cleveland Division of Police, 9 of 119 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 7.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Tomasch's cause is highlighted.
How John Tomasch Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John Tomasch is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
118 officers from Cleveland Division of Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
