The GREATER CLEVELAND PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL SOCIETY was founded in 1985 to honor peace officers who have given their lives in the performance of service to their communities and the nation, especially those from the Greater Cleveland area. The GCPOMS was originally established as the Peace Officer Memorial Day Parade Comm. by two members of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Assn. following the death of a fellow officer in 1984. The organization adopted the motto "In Honore Casorum," Latin for "In Honor of Those Who Have Fallen." The first Peace Officer Memorial Day Parade, held 20 May 1986, coincided with National Police Week and the National Observance of Peace Officer Memorial Day (15 May), as proclaimed by Pres. Kennedy in 1963. The GCPOMS Pipe Band, which performs internationally, wears the Kennedy Tartan to honor the date.
On 14 May 1993 the GCPOMS dedicated the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial at Huntington Park, W. 3rd and Lakeside Ave., in downtown Cleveland. The black granite monument honors the 145 area peace officers who have died in the line of duty since John Osborne, a member of the City of Cleveland Night Watch, was stabbed to death in 1853. The $350,000 project was funded with corporate and personal donations. In May 1995 the GCPOMS held its 10th Anniversary Tattoo, featuring pipe and marching bands, drill teams, and color guards from around the U.S. and Canada.
Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society. In Honore Casorum: In Honor of Those Who Have Fallen (1992).