Cleveland Division of Police, Ohio
End of Watch: Friday, August 5, 1983
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: 9 years
Badge Number: 380
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 5, 1983
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Patrolman Benjamin Grair was shot and killed as he moonlighted as a uniformed security guard at a local bank.
As he talked on the phone at the bank, a person in line walked over to him, shot him, then robbed the bank. Patrolman Grair was transported to the Euclid General Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds at 10:58 am.
A tip from an alert security guard led to the arrest of the 20-year-old suspect a short time later. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but the governor commuted his sentence to life with no parole. As of 2021, he was in the Mansfield Correctional Institution.
Patrolman Grair had served with the Cleveland Division of Police for two years and previously served as a patrolman with the Cleveland State University for seven years. He was survived by his wife.