SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield Police Department is remembering Springfield Police Officer Leo Hamel on Tuesday.

Officer Hamel was killed on October 31st, 1955 when he was crushed between two vehicles while trying to stop a vehicle that was being driven by a patient with mental health issues, according to the Springfield Police Department.

Officer Hamel jumped onto the running board of the vehicle but was killed when the vehicle sideswiped a second vehicle. He was 26 years old at the time of his death with 3 years on the job.

A total of 17 Springfield officers died in the line of duty since the city’s founding in 1636. A Fallen Officer Memorial is located outside the police headquarters on Pearl Street.

Springfield Police Fallen Officers

  1. Thomas Miller 10/05/1675
  2. Daniel Donovan 09/29/1908
  3. Adelbert St. Marie 08/31/1934
  4. Carl Rolf 11/02/1938
  5. John P. Sullivan, Sr. 02/02/1940
  6. Thomas F. Murphy 02/02/1940
  7. Raymond Moriarty 09/02/1946
  8. John W. Connors 02/20/1953
  9. Leo Hamel 10/31/1955
  10. Francis Sears 09/11/1967
  11. Walter C. Juskiewicz 06/21/1969
  12. William R. Berte 01/08/1973
  13. Richard D. Vigneault 04/11/1973
  14. Paul F. Mawaka 10/30/1973
  15. Michael Schiavina 11/12/1985
  16. Alain Beauregard 11/15/1985
  17. Kevin Ambrose 06/04/2012

Local News

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 providing local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Follow 22News on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.