Shaker Heights Police Department, Ohio
End of Watch: Monday, October 20, 1924
Age: 28
Tour of Duty: 1 year
Badge Number: 7
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: October 17, 1924
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: One executed; One sentenced to life
Patrolman Michael Hahnel was shot and killed while transporting two men to jail.
He and another officer had stopped a car for speeding at Moreland Boulevard and Lee Road and placed the two men under arrest. Unbeknownst to the officers, the two men were driving a stolen car and had just robbed a gas station. Patrolman Hahnel was riding in the backseat of their car, which was being driven to the police station when one of the occupants suddenly turned and shot him. The two then threw his body into a field on Ashwood Road, near East 140th Street, and fled.
Patrolman Hahnel succumbed to his wounds four days later.
One of the suspects was executed for Patrolman Hahnel's murder on April 24, 1925. The other suspect was sentenced to life.
Patrolman Hahnel had served with the Shaker Heights Police Department for one year. He was survived by his father and seven siblings.
He is buried in St Mary's Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio.