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Chief of Detectives Phillip Reitz | Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Police Department, Railroad Police Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Police Department, Railroad Police

Chief of Detectives

Phillip Reitz

Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Police Department, Railroad Police

End of Watch: Monday, August 7, 1922

Bio & Incident Details

Age: Not available

Tour: Not available

Badge # Not available

Cause: Gunfire

Location: Illinois

Incident Date: 8/7/1922

Weapon: Gun; Unknown type

Suspect: Shot and killed

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Chief of Detectives Phillip Reitz was shot and killed after responding to a call of a citizen who feared for his life during a labor unrest.

At about 4:30 am, a non-striking railroad shop foreman was being threatened by 500 striking workers who had surrounded his house on Garnsey Avenue in Joliet. When officers arrived, the railroad workers fatally shot Chief Reitz in the heart, killing him instantly.

The striker who allegedly shot Chief Reitz was shot and killed by the Will County Sheriff, who was also wounded in the head and leg.

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Chief Reitz, on this 84th anniversary of your murder, I simply wish to say thank you for putting the life of another above your own. No union action ever justifies murder and I pray that those thugs who called themselves ‘union workers’ received the justice they so richly deserved.

God Bless and may you continue to Rest in Peace, Brother.

Ptl. Jim Leahy, Jr.
Harvard University Police Dept.
August 7, 2006

 

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