Detective Harley Leroy Kinnear, New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department, Railroad Police

Detective Harley Leroy Kinnear

New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department, Railroad Police

End of Watch Friday, July 12, 1946

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Harley Leroy Kinnear

Detective Harley Kinnear succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous night when he was shot while interrupting the burglary of a boxcar in Cleveland, Ohio.

He encountered three men breaking into a boxcar at E. 68th Street and Colfax Road and ordered them to approach them. As they did so one of the men suddenly drew a .38 caliber revolver and shot him in the spine. He was taken to a local hospital where he died the following night.

All three men were arrested in Little Rock, Arkansas, and extradited back to Cleveland. All three were sentenced to death for a second murder committed in Cleveland and subsequently executed in 1948.

Detective Kinnear was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII and had served with the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Police Department for one year. He was survived by his wife and 8-month-old daughter.

Bio

Age 38
Tour 1 year
Badge Not available
Military Veteran

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Location Ohio
Incident Date Thursday, July 11, 1946
Weapon Handgun; .38 caliber
Offender Executed in 1948

larceny, trespasser

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Detective Kinnear, thank you for your service in helping to protect one of America's greatest assets, it's Railroads. May your eternal rest be ever peaceful and may God Bless you, Brother.

Ptl. Jim Leahy, Jr.
Harvard University Police Department

July 21, 2021