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Michael L. Sweeney
Agency patch
Dispatcher

Michael L. Sweeney

Put-in-Bay Police Department — Put-In-Bay, OH
Accident
United States flag Ohio flag
End of Watch December 9, 1983
Age 22
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
The Vigil Panel 127 ›
Gender Male
Incident Service The Sacrifice

Incident

Dispatcher Michael Sweeney, Deputy Sheriff Bruce Mettler of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, and Sergeant Rigoni of the Port Clinton Police Department were killed when the plane they were riding in crashed into Lake Erie. The officers were traveling to assist a police chief on a neighboring island who was suffering a heart attack. All four occupants of the plane were killed in the accident. Dispatcher Sweeney had served with the Put-in-Bay Police Department for one year.

Survivors

He was survived by his parents, two brothers, and a sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-4B11F884
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

You barely got started.
Dispatcher Sweeney gave the Put-in-Bay Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Put-In-Bay community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Dispatcher Sweeney.

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

Agency

Department Put-in-Bay Police Department
Type Police Department
Location Put-In-Bay, Ottawa County, OH
Platform Identity ppd.ottawa.oh.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 9, 1983
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 22
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Dispatcher Michael L. Sweeney 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 OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 32.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Put-in-Bay Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
OH — Statewide
318
of 991 officers
32.1% 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. Michael L. Sweeney's cause is highlighted.

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

How Michael L. Sweeney Compares

Age at Death
22
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Michael L. Sweeney is highlighted in Dec.

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

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Put-in-Bay Police Department are honored on badge.nw.