Roll of Honor
Boleslaus J. "Bernard" Wozniak
Incident
Location: Michigan Incident Date: Thursday, May 16, 1918 Weapon: Shotgun Offender: Sentenced to life
Railroad Detective Bernard Wozniak, Railroad Rody Goe, and Railroad Detective George Ziemba 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 November 21st, 1918, one of the men escaped from the state prison in Jackson. It is not known if he was ever recaptured.
Detective Wozniak was survived by his parents. He was buried in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.
Survivors
Detective Wozniak was survived by his parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-659CF10F- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Boleslaus. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Railroad Detective Wozniak served with the Michigan Central Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Railroad Detective Wozniak.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Railroad Detective Boleslaus J. "Bernard" Wozniak 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Michigan Central Railroad Police Department, 4 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Boleslaus J. "Bernard" Wozniak's cause is highlighted.
How Boleslaus J. "Bernard" Wozniak Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to life
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Boleslaus J. "Bernard" Wozniak is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Michigan Central Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
