Hammond Police Department, Indiana
End of Watch: Wednesday, October 9, 1929
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: 6 years, 4 months
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: October 9, 1929
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Detective Sergeant Leo Fox was shot and killed when he and several other lawmen went into a building, looking for members of a gang that had robbed a roadhouse in Glen Oak, Illinois, which is now part of Lansing, Illinois, three days earlier. The officers went to the apartment building in Hammond after receiving information that the suspects were located there.
As Detective Sergeant Fox and officers from Hammond and Cook County, Illinois, entered the suspects' apartment, gunfire erupted, and Detective Sergeant Fox was shot and killed by the gang's leader. In the shootout, the gang's leader was also killed and a Hammond detective sergeant, who later became chief, was wounded, as was an officer with the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department. The surviving five gang members, two of whom were seriously wounded, were arrested in the apartment. All five died in prison while serving life sentences.
Detective Sergeant Fox had served with the Hammond Police Department for over six years.