South Bend Police honor fallen officer buried in unmarked grave for more than 100 years

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The South Bend Police Department honored one of its own Wednesday afternoon, 100 years after the officer was killed while on duty.

Patrolman Fred Buhland was killed on January 10, 1921, as he was responding to a shots fired report in the city.

While Buhland and several other officers apprehended two men and confiscated their visible guns, they did not search them, and one of the suspects pulled out a different gun and shot Buhland. He died from his wounds.

The suspect left the scene and was never identified or arrested.

Several city and police officials spoke at Wednesday’s ceremony and honored Buhland’s life and service with an Honor Guard and the playing of Taps. Buhland had been serving on the police department for less than a month before he was killed.

Officials are unsure why Buhland was buried in an unmarked grave in the first place, but the issue was rectified once the error was discovered.

“He still has family at the South Bend Police Department,” said Scott Ruszkowski, Chief of Police for South Bend. “And I think there's some type of resolution, for lack of a better term, that we know that he can rest even more peacefully now that we've recognized this.”

Buhland is buried in Highland Cemetery on the northwest side of South Bend.