Roll of Honor
Incident
Location: Indiana Weapon: Officer's handgun Offender: Arrested
Captain Frank Shea was mistakenly shot and killed in front of the main post office on 5th Avenue in Gary, Indiana while conducting an undercover operation with the Gary Police Department.
He had been sent to Gary from his home in Passaic, New Jersey to conduct an investigation into the recent theft of $50,000 worth of cargo from rail cars in the greater Chicago area. He had infiltrated the gang and developed a ruse to have members of the crime ring accompany him to the post office in Gary under the pretext that he would be receiving a letter about a shipment of liquor coming through the area. He had arranged for members of the Gary Police Department to arrest the subjects once the arrived at the post office.
As the men exited the car members of the Gary Police Department approached to take them into custody. Captain Shea, who had ridden in the car with the men, also drew his weapon to assist with the arrest. One of the Gary officers did not recognize him and opened fire, fatally wounding him. Captain Shea made a deathbed statement exonerating the officer from any blame.
Both of the targets of the investigation were arrested.
Capt. Shea, On today, the 100th anniversary of your death I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice as a Law Enforcement Officer.
BPA Mike Casey United States Border Patrol(Retired) October 10th, 2024
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-E7615623- 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.
Captain Shea served with the Erie Railroad Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Cleveland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Captain Shea.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Captain Frank Russell Shea 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 Erie Railroad Police Department, 5 of 13 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 38.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frank Russell Shea's cause is highlighted.
How Frank Russell Shea Compares
Offender Outcome
Arrested
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Frank Russell Shea is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
12 officers from Erie Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
