Iowa City Police Want to Honor Fallen Officer

Iowa City Police officer Edward Leeney was killed in the line of duty in 1926.

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By James Steward

Story Created: Jul 4, 2011 at 2:56 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 4, 2011 at 2:56 PM CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine's duties are mostly administrative, but that hasn't kept him from taking on a cold case in recent weeks.

The evidence: a poor-quality photo copy of a decades old newspaper clipping. The mystery: Who was Edward Leeney?

Leeney was an Iowa City police officer in the 1920s. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Leeney was killed April 29, 1926. He was 32. The entry on the memorial page reads: "Patrolman Leeney was killed when his police motorcycle collided with a streetcar. He suffered a broken neck in the accident and was killed instantly."

Hargadine's interest in Leeney, the only Iowa City police officer killed in the line of duty, began when officers Mike Smithey and Paul Batcheller flew to Washington, D.C., earlier this year for an awards ceremony. While in D.C., the men went to a memorial for fallen police officers and got a rubbing of Leeney's name.

Other officers have tried to dig up details on Leeney but without much success. A clipping from an old Press-Citizen article matted, framed and hanging up in the police station, is all that has come out of those efforts.

"We'd like to pay more of a tribute," Hargadine said. "We just thought we'd like to memorialize it."

There have been a few breaks in the case. Though most of his relatives from that generation have died, some of his nieces have been tracked down. Sgt. Denise Brotherton also discovered where Leeney was buried.

His gravestone notes he was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Hargadine also would like to note his service to the city.

In addition to learning more about the details surrounding his death, Hargadine would like to track down a photo of Leeney so they could update their plaque and better honor him.

"If there was a picture of him in uniform, we would definitely display that," he said. "As cold as the case is, I'd take what we can get."

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