Herbert Lesch
Agency patch
Chief of Police

Herbert Lesch

Wheeling Police Department — Wheeling, IL
Accident
End of Watch October 8, 1935
Age 29
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
The Vigil Panel 70 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Chief Herbert Lesch was killed in a motorcycle accident when he collided with a state police car while escorting a milk truck during a strike.

Chief Lesch had served with the Wheeling Police Department for four years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-87990E25
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Lesch gave the Wheeling Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Wheeling community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Lesch.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Wheeling, Cook County, IL
Platform Identity wheepd.cook.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 8, 1935
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
Age 29
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Chief of Police Herbert Lesch is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Wheeling Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Wheeling Police Department
1
of 2 officers
50% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Herbert Lesch's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Herbert Lesch Compares

Age at Death
29
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
4
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Herbert Lesch is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Wheeling Police Department are honored on badge.nw.