Detroit Police Department, Michigan
End of Watch: Friday, May 12, 1916
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 6 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 12, 1916
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Died in prison
Patrolman Leland Alexander was shot and killed in a gun battle with three robbery suspects between Illinois Street and Leland Street.
Police Officer Alexander and his partner Officer Louis Hacker were initially responding to a loitering complaint. When they arrived at the nearby saloon around 11:30 p.m., the loitering suspects dispersed in separate directions. Officer Hacker chased the men who went west while Alexander went east. He was killed in an exchange of gunfire in an alleyway. All three suspects were apprehended later in the day. Investigators determined the group had been involved in a string of downtown robberies.
The confessed gunman was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. On August 28, 1931, he died a hero in the prison hospital as he went to the aid of a dying doctor who had just been shot by an inmate with a smuggled gun. That inmate shot and killed him and three others before killing himself. Patrolman Alexander's killer was posthumously pardoned by Governor Wilbur M. Brucker.
Patrolman Alexander was survived by his wife.