Roll of Honor
John H. Shafer
Incident
Location: Ohio Incident Date: Thursday, May 14, 1953
Detective John Shafer succumbed to injuries sustained on May 14th, 1953, when he was struck by a train in Lima, Ohio.
He was checking on freight cars when he was struck by a passing train.
Detective Shafer had served with the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department for eight years and had previously served with the Muncie Police Department for four years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-10F46CEB- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Shafer served with the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Cleveland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Shafer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective John H. Shafer 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 New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department, 6 of 10 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 60% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John H. Shafer's cause is highlighted.
How John H. Shafer Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John H. Shafer is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
9 officers from New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
