Incident
Officer Edward Baerwald was killed after being knocked to the ground by a cable at the intersection of Clark Street and South 1st Avenue. The impact caused his head to strike the pavement. He was working a security detail for a presidential parade for President Calvin Coolidge at the time of the accident. Officer Baerwald had served with the Wausau Police Department for 16 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WI-CFC72E5F- 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.
Officer Baerwald gave the Wausau Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Wausau community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Baerwald.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Edward Baerwald 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 WI, 124 of 317 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward Baerwald's cause is highlighted.
How Edward Baerwald Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Edward Baerwald is highlighted in Aug.