Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Austin Harman was accidentally shot and killed when his service weapon fell from his pocket and discharged.
He and another officer had been removing decorations from the side of the road welcoming home soldiers from WWI. While removing the decorations the officers received a report of an armed robbery in Perrysburg, and that the suspects were heading towards Bowling Green.
Both officers retrieved their weapons from the vehicle and began searching for the suspects. After a short time they returned to clearing the decorations. As Patrolman Harman's partner lifted a box his revolver fell from his pocket and discharged, striking Patrolman Harman in the groin. He was taken to a nearby doctor's office where he succumbed to his wound.
Patrolman Harman had served with the agency for 21 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two grown daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-76D491D2- 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
21 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Harman gave the Bowling Green Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Bowling Green community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Harman.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Austin Harman 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%.
At Bowling Green Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Austin Harman's cause is highlighted.
How Austin Harman Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Austin Harman is highlighted in May.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Bowling Green Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
