Roll of Honor
Lee Finley Mortimer
Incident
Auxiliary Police Officer Lee Mortimer suffered a fatal heart attack while directing traffic for a four block fire in Rankin Borough.
The fire started at 11:45 a.m near the intersection of First Avenue and Second Avenue and swept through four blocks, destroying or damaging 22 homes, three school buildings and shops. Over 200 firefighters had fought the blaze for three hour which caused an estimated $1,000,000 in damages. Sixty families were evacuated and 100 people were left homeless.
Due to the fire Auxiliary Police Officer Mortimer had been called into service to direct traffic so emergency crews could get to the scene and to keep public away. While he was directing traffic he suffered a fatal heart attack. He was rushed to Braddock General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Auxiliary Police Officer Mortimer was survived by his wife, four children, and mother.
Survivors
Auxiliary Police Officer Mortimer was survived by his wife, four children, and mother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-1E48DD95- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Auxiliary Police Officer Mortimer served with the Swissvale Borough Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Pittsburgh community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Auxiliary Police Officer Mortimer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Auxiliary Police Officer Lee Finley Mortimer is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In PA, 118 of 1,261 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 9.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Swissvale Borough Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lee Finley Mortimer's cause is highlighted.
How Lee Finley Mortimer Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Lee Finley Mortimer is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Swissvale Borough Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
