Elmwood Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Elmwood Park Peace Officer Memorial

Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 25, 2024

1. Elmwood Park Peace Officer Memorial

Inscription. [Center tablet:] St. Michael, heaven's glorious commissioner of police, who once so neatly and successfully cleared God's premises of all its undesirables, look with kindly and professional eye on your earthly force.

Give us cool heads, stout hearts, hard punches, an uncanny flair for investigation and wise judgement.

Make us the terror of burglars, the friend of children and law-abiding citizens, kind to strangers, polite to bores, strict with law-breakers and impervious to temptations.

You know, St. Michael, from your own experiences with the devil that the policeman's lot on earth is not always a happy one, but your sense of duty that so pleased God, your hard knows that so surprised the devil, and your angelic self-control give us inspiration.

And when we lay down our night sticks, enroll us in your heavenly force, where we will be as proud to guard the throne of God as we have been to guard the city of men.
Amen

Dedicated to all law enforcement officers who have given their lives in the performance of their duties.

[Left tablet:]
In memory of
Emil H. Johnson
Elmwood Park
Police Chief

129

Chief Johnson was killed
in the line of duty on
October 5, 1924, when his
motorcycle crashed into an
automobile

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as he was
chasing a speeding motorist

[Right plaque:]
In memory of
Nels M. Christy
Elmwood Park
Police Officer

215

Officer Christy was killed
in the line of duty on
July 2, 1930, when a truck
failed to stop at an
intersection and struck
him on his motorcycle

Erected 2016 by Elmwood Park Police Department.

Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in this topic list: Law Enforcement. A significant historical date for this entry is October 5, 1924.

Location. 41° 55.411′ N, 87° 48.725′ W. Marker is in Elmwood Park, Illinois, in Cook County. Marker is on Fullerton Avenue east of 74th Court, on the right when traveling west. The memorial is in front of the Elmwood Park Police Department building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7420 West Fullerton Avenue, Elmwood Park IL 60707, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. 09.11.2001 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Patriots Garden (approx. 0.4 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); LCPL Nickolas A. Daniels Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Elmwood Park Honor Roll (approx. 0.4 miles away); Peace (approx. 0.4 miles away); Montclare World War I Honor Roll

Elmwood Park Police Department building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 25, 2024

2. Elmwood Park Police Department building

The marker is behind the flagpole

(approx. 0.8 miles away); The Great Assyrian and Babylonian Empires (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Elmwood Park.

More about this memorial. An Elmwood Park police emblem is at the top of the memorial; St. Michael is on the left side of the central panel. St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers.

Regarding Elmwood Park Peace Officer Memorial. Nels Christy died in 1930 after a delivery truck failed to stop at a stop sign at 77th Avenue and Diversey Avenue (about ¾ of a mile northwest of this location) and collided with Christy's motorcycle. Christy was for many years after considered the first Elmwood Park police officer to die in the line of duty, and his name was added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

However, Emil Johnson was working for the Elmwood Park PD when he crashed into an automobile while chasing a speeding motorist on October 4, 1924. (Ironically, Christy was with Johnson at the time of the accident and was badly injured; he was a private citizen at the time and joined the police department after recovering.)

For some reason, however, Johnson's death while on

Emil Johnson image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 25, 2024

3. Emil Johnson

A close-up of the photo of Emil Johnson that is included on the memorial.

duty had slipped from the village's official memory; he was not honored within Elmwood Park and, his descendants discovered in the early 2000s, not named on the national memorial in D.C. According to news reports, his family struggled for years to give Johnson credit for dying while on duty as a police officer. Finally by the mid-2010s, using a collection of court records, photographs, a death certificate and newspaper articles about the accident, they were able to get the Elmwood Park PD to officially verify Johnson's death in the line of duty. He was included on the peace memorial when it was unveiled in 2016, and his name was added to the national memorial in D.C.

Also see . . . Elmwood Park memorial honors police officers. From the Elm Leaves newspaper. (Submitted on January 25, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Nels Christy image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 25, 2024

4. Nels Christy

A close-up of the photo of Nels Christy that is included on the memorial.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, January 25, 2024

5. Elmwood Park Peace Officer Memorial

A dedication plaque for the memorial, erected in 2016 to the left of the main memorial.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 3, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 25, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 59 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 25, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.