Deputy Sheriff Edward G. Byrne

Deputy Sheriff Edward G. Byrne

Marion County Sheriff's Office, Indiana

End of Watch Sunday, April 16, 1961

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Edward G. Byrne

Deputy Edward Byrne was shot and killed while responding to a robbery call at a local tavern at 9 am.

Upon his arrival, he stopped a vehicle at the 6300 block of east 10th Street that was leaving the tavern. He had returned to his patrol car when he was shot by one of its occupants. Deputy Byrne was known for wearing his campaign hat, and as he sat in his patrol car, it was thought that the brim of his hat did not permit him to observe the suspects' movement outside when he was shot.

Three suspects were apprehended. One pleaded guilty to armed robbery. The second received life with eligibility for parole in 15 years and died in prison. Those two testified against the third subject, who was convicted and sentenced to death. He spent 14 years appealing his sentence and going back and forth to a mental institution before being convicted and given life. He died in 1995.

Deputy Byrne had served with the Marion County Sheriff's Department for only nine months. He was survived by his expectant wife.

Bio

  • Age 23
  • Tour 9 months
  • Badge 101

Incident Details

  • Cause Gunfire
  • Weapon Gun; Unknown type
  • Offender Life sentence

robbery in progress

Most Recent Reflection

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Me and my family were coming back from Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church and the deputies car came whizzing around us as we approached Hill Top Tavern on Ridgeview Dr. so daddy pulled our 1952 Chevy a few feet up Ridgeview and all four of us watched as the deputy pull over the car and then proceeded to get out. After that we went home on 14th street. I was 11 years old and shocked to realized that the deputy had only a few minutes to live and we saw that. After that my mother called downtown to the police department and reported what we saw and someone reported seeing our black Chevy so the pieces of the upcoming trial were coming together. My mother went downtown later that year and testified to what she had seen. Callahan had 2 more trials and one of them was in Greenwood. So mom ended up testifying 3 times.

Nancy Desch
witness

July 10, 2022

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