Andrew Henry Leonard
On November 14, 1922, inmate Joe Martinez was working, shoveling coal into the powerhouse at USP Leavenworth, when an officer arrived to escort him to B-Cell house for a haircut. Upon entering the cell house, inmate Martinez did not remove his cap until ordered to do so by another officer. The inmate barber asked inmate Martinez to clean his face. Martinez did not comply and instead turned to walk out of the cell house. The inmate barber warned the officers that inmate Martinez, who was a Mexican bullfighter by trade and said to be an expert knife-thrower, had a knife. As three officers began to pat search the inmate, Martinez drew his weapon. The inmate stabbed one officer in the right shoulder, one in the left shoulder, and the third in the chest.
Captain Leonard had been in route to the east gate to release the outside work details when he was informed by another inmate that Martinez had stabbed the officers. An officer who was working in the basement of the kitchen joined Captain Leonard in the search for inmate Martinez. Located directly in front of the powerhouse in 2-gang alley, Captain Leonard and the accompanying officer attempted to subdue the inmate with their clubs. Martinez climbed to the top of a coal pile with Captain Leonard in pursuit. Captain Leonard slipped and fell forward, and inmate Martinez stabbed him in the heart killing him instantly. Inmate Martinez then stabbed the officer in the stomach, almost disemboweling him.
The Deputy Warden arrived on the scene with a revolver and inmate Martinez chased him onto the top of a coal car. The Deputy Warden managed to gain the advantage over the inmate and after Martinez promised to drop his weapon and submit to capture, they both climbed down from the coal car. As the Deputy Warden attempted to take the inmate into custody, Martinez lunged at him. Another officer, who had just arrived, hit inmate Martinez in the head with a large chunk of coal, fracturing the assailant's skull. Despite his injury, inmate Martinez attempted to stab the officer and was shot twice by another officer, once in the knee and once in the stomach.
Injured, inmate Martinez still managed to escape into the powerhouse and hid behind a coal pile. Two inmates captured Martinez without further incident. Inmate Martinez died from his injuries on November 29, 1922. Captain Leonard, a Spanish American War veteran, left behind a wife and three children. The other staff members involved survived their injuries.
Of interest is the fact that as a young officer in 1901, Captain Leonard was involved in ending the inmate uprising in which Officer Joseph B. Waldrupe was killed.
Andrew Henry Leonard is listed in the National Law Enforcement Memorial on Panel 3, E-1. He is buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery Section A grave 1772. Andrew, you will never be forgotten.