Leadwood Police Chief Jerry Hicks died Sunday from his injuries in Tuesday morning’s accident.
Family, fellow police officers and friends surrounded his hospital bed when Hicks died shortly after 5 p.m. Among them were Hicks’ two children, his ex-wife, his girlfriend and several current or former Leadwood police officers. The city sent a patrol car to St. Louis to escort Hicks to the Boyer Funeral home, but details of funeral arrangements had not been announced by press time.
Hicks, 69, had not regained consciousness after suffering a head injury in the accident and had been on life support.
Big River Fire Chief Dave Pratte, who is vice president of the St. Francois County BackStoppers, and Park Hills Officer Brian Whitfield, who is president, said the BackStoppers organization has been notified of the chief's death and they should be contacting the family this morning in response with a line of duty death.
This is the second St. Francois County law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty since the county has been part of BackStoppers, which provides immediate financial assistance to the family of an officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty. The organization assumes financial debt of the family.
Shortly after Hicks’ death, Leadwood police officer Reggie Jaco said there will be a “final dispatch” for Hicks, but he was not sure when it would be issued. The dispatch includes announcing Hicks’ name three times, followed by a formal announcement of his death. Other honors will be planned, including one by the Masons, he said.
“He was full of love, and he loved working for the city of Leadwood,” Jaco said. “I had the pleasure of working with him for the past eight-and-a-half years and he was one of the best officers I ever worked with. I love him and I miss him.”
News of Hicks’ death traveled quickly and left many of his friends and coworkers too grief stricken to speak. Former mayor of Leadwood John Hartley said he and many others spent the week at the hospital and held prayer vigils for him.
“This hurts me deeply, Hartley said. “We have lost a good man. Jerry was like an Andy Griffith to Leadwood.” (Griffith played good-natured Sheriff Andy Taylor from 1960 to 1968 in the Andy Griffith Show.)
Last Monday, Hicks had contacted Hartley about helping a family with four children so they could have Christmas. Hartley said Hicks told him he wanted to continue the Neighbor Helping Neighbor program Hartley began before stepping down as mayor.
Jerry Hicks Jr. said his father worked hard to make Leadwood a good community.
“When somebody was in need, he was the first one there and the last one to leave,” Hicks Jr. said. “He had a way of making you feel welcome and comfortable, even in a police station. He saw the good in people, even though the job dictates you see the worst in people.”
Alderman John Vickers and City Clerk Sarah Moyers were among those who stood in the rain Sunday morning at a local gas station to collect tips for Hicks’ family to help with expenses they were incurring while at the hospital. Despite the weather, the group collected nearly $300, including a check from one man for $100, Moyers said.
“Jerry was one of the nicest men I know,” Moyers said. “No matter what was going on, he always tried to be fair. He looked for the good in everybody, and it didn’t matter what kind of person you were.
“People in town like him and a lot of them called him “Grandpa Jerry,” “Papa Jerry,” or “Uncle Jerry.”
Moyers visited Hicks in the hospital Wednesday evening and Saturday. Each time, the waiting room was “packed with people.”
“He was well loved,” she said.
Tragic accident
Hicks was in his usual seat Monday night at the monthly Leadwood Board of Aldermen meeting. Instead of his usual police uniform, Hicks wore camouflage pants and a jacket. He looked younger and more relaxed than in recent months, when differences among city officials and complaints from a former police officer created tension. As usual, he greeted everyone with a smile.
Hours later, he was in a fight for his life.
“It’s so tragic,” Leadwood Mayor Dennis Parks said. “You never know how fast someone can leave you. The city lost a very good man and officer. And we lost a very good friend.”
Hicks was on his way to pick up an inmate crew at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when he hit ice on the bridge over the railroad tracks on Highway 8 near Hopewell. The patrol car went off the left side of the road, spun sideways and struck a tree at Railroad Road in Washington County.
The Highway Patrol reported that Hicks lost control on an ice covered bridge on Missouri 8, and his patrol car struck a tree. The reports said Hicks had not been wearing a seat belt. However, his son said Hicks had injuries consistent with seat belt injuries. Moyers, who looked into the accident for insurance purposes, said there was reason to believe Hicks could have removed the seat belt before he passed out.
“He hit the tree from the passenger side,” Jerry Hicks Jr. said. “He has bruising from the seat belt. I don’t know whether he took it off before he lost consciousness or if someone else did before the Highway Patrol arrived, but the doctor is certain that he was wearing a seat belt.”
When he “T-boned” the tree, Hicks was thrown back and forth sideways, causing him to hit the side window, his son explained.
After being taken to Washington County Memorial Hospital, Hicks was flown by air ambulance to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center.
Police work
In an unusual twist, Hicks followed his son’s footsteps into joining law enforcement a few years after Jerry Jr. became a sheriff’s deputy. He also became a police chief after his son was named chief of police at Iron Mountain Lake.
“I introduced him to (former sheriff) Ken Buckley,” Jerry Jr. said. “I left and went to Bismarck, and he joined the sheriff’s department in 1987.”
Before coming to Leadwood, the elder Hicks worked in Elvins Police Department and the Ste. Genevieve Sheriff’s Department. He started as a reserve in Leadwood, working for free several hours each week. He later was hired part-time until 2007, when he was promoted from corporal to full-time police chief. Hicks replaced Joshua Scherffius, who was hired as chief in 2006, but resigned the following year to take a job with benefits.
Hicks was in the hospital after having heart surgery when the board hired him as chief. An alderman at the time said Hicks was chosen because he was a friendly police officer with a calm, unruffled presence.”
“He’s a well-liked man in the community, and he’s got the demeanor for the job,” then Alderman Steve Pitts said. “One of the aldermen suggested he was the best man for the job, and we all agreed. He’s put in a lot of hours for a part-timer, and he’s always been one to help.”
As Leadwood chief, Hicks made it a priority to fill vacant positions to give the office four full-time officers and two part-time officers. He also worked to build the reserve staff.
Elizabeth Deer worked for Leadwood under Hicks before getting a better paying position with the sheriff’s department.
“I’m very pleased that I got to know Jerry,” she said. “He was always encouraging, event when I told him I was leaving. He said, ‘Gal, I’m sorry to see you go, but I’m proud of you.’ He was always kind.
At the end, Hicks was surrounded by loved ones, Deer said.
“We were all praying that he would do better, but God called him home,” she said.
Meeting the challenges
Conflicts among elected officials often touched Hicks in recent years. During one difficult stretch, board meetings frequently included loud, angry accusations. Hicks typically remained unflappable during the arguments, but one heated evening, he had enough. When an alderman stormed out after an angry exchange with the board, Hicks jumped up and headed after the man. “I’m not going to put up with this kind of disrespect,” Hicks said tersely.
Late last June, after Hartley submitted his resignation as mayor, rumors spread through town that Hicks was going to be fired by the board. Handwritten signs went up around the city, reflecting the rumors.
“Attention all citizens of Leadwood: Our chief of police, Jerry Hicks, has been an officer of Leadwood for the past 15 years and chief for the past four years,” the signs said. “Jerry Hicks has also been (the) longest acting chief Leadwood has had. This morning, our mayor, John Hartley, has made the decision to resign. Because of this, the career of Chief Jerry Hicks is now at risk. Please help save the one officer who has served and protected our city for so long, by simply making a phone call to our new mayor, Dennis Parks, or contacting Leadwood City Hall, and letting them all know that we, the people of Leadwood, want to keep Jerry Hicks as an officer and as our chief. Don’t let them make this decision for us. Thanks for your help. Concerned Leadwood Citizens.”
The board denied that there was any discussion to replace Hicks. Citizens turned out at the meeting to support Hicks and Hartley, who by then had withdrawn his resignation. Hartley assured the citizens there was no plan to fire Hicks.
In October, someone set four fires in one day in Leadwood. The incident led to the resignation of a police officer, who then criticized Hicks and his fellow officers. Despite the accusations, Hicks refused to speak poorly of the officer.
Jaco disagreed with the former officer’s complaint that Hicks did not support him.
“For those of us who worked with him, he backed us up 150 percent,” Jaco said. “He was very generous, and if you were down, he always tried to pick you up.”
Jaco said Hicks always visited him after Jaco’s surgeries for his back and his heart.
“A lot of chiefs would have given up on someone who had all these surgeries, and let them go,” he said. “But Chief Hicks would come and sit with me just to spend time with me and help me get better emotionally.”
Hicks, who was grandfather to five and great-grandfather to three, also considered his officers, their spouses and their families part of his family, Jaco said.
“He was a grandfather figure to me.”
Currently, Officer Beau Reichenbach is serving as acting police chief and he most likely will continue in that position until a new chief is chosen. Hicks’ spirit will still be felt in the department and in the community, and he will not be forgotten, several people said.
“There was no quit in that man, right up until God called him,” Jaco said. “If I become half the officer he was, I will consider my career in law enforcement a success.”
Some information in this story was provided by Teresa Ressel.
Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at
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