Roll of Honor

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Chief of Police

John R. Bohl

Chardon Police Department — Chardon, OH

Cardiac

End of Watch October 25, 1966

Age 51

Tour of Duty 26 yrs

The Vigil Panel 102 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice

Incident

Chief of Police John Bohl suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after arriving at the scene of a horrific traffic crash on US Route 6. When he arrived at the scene, five victims, including an infant, had already died. As he assisted with the rescue efforts of other victims, mostly young children, he suffered a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at the Geauga Community Hospital. Ultimately, six adults, an infant, and a toddler died in the crash. A photographer also suffered a heart attack. Chief Bohl had served as the chief of police of the Chardon Police Department for 19 years and served in law enforcement for over 26 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, stepson, mother, brother, and three grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-OH-F59BE1F8
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

26 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Bohl gave the Chardon Police Department 26 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Chardon community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Bohl.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Chardon Police Department

Location Chardon, OH

Platform Identity cpd.geauga.oh.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 25, 1966

Tour of Duty 26 yrs

Age 51

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Chief of Police John R. Bohl 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%.

Chardon Police Department

of 1 officers

100% Cardiac

OH — Statewide

of 991 officers

4.3% Cardiac

Nationwide

1,306

of 32,508 officers

4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John R. Bohl's cause is highlighted.

Felonious

17,623 (54.2%)

Accident

10,088 (31%)

Illness

2,974 (9.1%)

Cardiac

1,306 (4%)

Undetermined

260 (0.8%)

Suicide

256 (0.8%)

vehicular

1 (0%)

How John R. Bohl Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years

Years of Service