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Railroad Detective

George Ziemba

Michigan Central Railroad Police Department — Detroit, MI

Felonious

End of Watch May 25, 1918

Age 36

Tour of Duty 8 yrs

The Vigil Panel 34 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 5

Incident

Location: Michigan Incident Date: Thursday, May 16, 1918 Weapon: Gun; Unknown type Offender: Released in 1941

Railroad Detective George Ziemba, Railroad Detective Rody Goe, and Railroad Detective Bernard Wozniak were shot and killed in the Dearborn Yards, near Miller Road in Dearborn, Michigan, while they conducted surveillance with five other detectives.

Earlier in the day, a railroad worker had discovered a pile of stolen tires hidden in the railroad yards. The detectives were alerted and hid near the area to await the return of the thieves.

At approximately 10:00 pm four men were observed approaching the area carrying timber they were going to use to string the tires onto. When Detective Goe shined his light on them and told them to stop, the men immediately opened fire. Detective Goe, Detective Wozniak, and Detective Ziemba were mortally wounded and one other railroad detective non-life-threatening wounds. It is believed that Detective Wozniak was inadvertently struck by a shotgun blast fired by another detective as he ran up an embankment.

The other detectives returned fire but did not strike the suspects as they fled. Detective Wozniak succumbed to his wounds on May 20th, 1918, and Detective Ziemba succumbed to his on May 25th, 1918.

Two of the suspects were apprehended the following night. Both men were convicted of Detective Goe's murder and sentenced to life in prison. On July 24, 1922, one of the men escaped from the state prison in Jackson. He was recaptured in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 14, 1923. Both men were released in 1941.

Detective Ziemba had served with the Michigan Central Railroad Police Department for at least eight years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two sons.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-RR-2DF835E8
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.
Railroad Detective Ziemba gave the Michigan Central Railroad Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Railroad Detective Ziemba.

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

Agency

Department Michigan Central Railroad Police Department

Location Detroit, MI

Platform Identity mcrpd.rr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 25, 1918

Tour of Duty 8 yrs

Age 36

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Offender Released in 1941

Railroad Detective George Ziemba is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MI, 426 of 718 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 59.3% of this state's fallen. That is 5.1 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Michigan Central Railroad Police Department, 2 of 6 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Michigan Central Railroad Police Department

of 6 officers

33.3% Felonious

MI — Statewide

426

of 718 officers

59.3% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious