Clarence E. German, who retired in 1968 as a Baltimore police lieutenant colonel and as head of the force's Criminal Investigation Division, died Tuesday at a hospital in Camp Hill, Pa., after a heart attack.

He was 85 and had lived in Mechanicsburg, Pa., since 1979.

Services for Colonel German were being held today at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg.

He was in charge of CID for two years. As a major, he had headed the internal investigation unit, the riot squad and the rackets division.

Born in Baltimore and a graduate of City College, he worked for a bank and for his father's construction business before joining the Police Department in 1932.

Colonel German's first wife, the former Varnece Travers, died in 1982.

He is survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Fry; a sister, Gladys Shawker of Gaithersburg; a nephew, Alvin German Jr. of Columbia; and a niece, Norma Jordan of Arbutus.