Bob Moser
The Columbus Dispatch
Copyright 2006 The Columbus Dispatch
All Rights Reserved
Sgt. Larry Deck, a 25-year veteran with the Columbus Division of Police, died yesterday at Riverside Methodist Hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm Tuesday.
The 47-year-old was head of the Columbus Police Crime Scene Search Unit, which he had been with since April 1998. He joined the police department in May 1981.
Deck also held upper-level positions with the Fraternal Order of Police as president and executive vice president, and was chairman of the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees since June 2005.
He left work early Tuesday to attend an FOP function in Marion, where the aneurysm occurred. Deck was flown by helicopter from Marion to Riverside in Columbus that evening but was unresponsive upon arrival, police spokeswoman Betty Schwab said.
Deck was taken off life support about 1 p.m. Wednesday and died yesterday morning.
Lt. Tom Fischer, who oversaw Deck’s unit, characterized him as a “real down-to-earth guy and a consensus builder.”
“I don’t think he ever rubbed anyone the wrong way,” Fischer said. “He always looked for the positive, which explains why he was so good at working with people.”
Deck served on numerous wage negotiating teams for the FOP with the city of Columbus and was one of the most respected union contract negotiators in central Ohio, said Bill Estabrook, executive director of the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund.
“He was a guy that could sum up the scene real quick and put together a game plan real quick,” Estabrook said. “And that was what made him such a good sergeant and contract negotiator.”
Calling hours will be 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Sunday at the Schoedinger Worthington Chapel, 6699 N. High St., with an FOP service at 7:30 p.m. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Patrick Church, 280 N. Grant Ave.
bmoser@dispatch.com
Photo, Sgt. Larry Deck rose to leadership positions in his unit, his union and his pension fund’s board of trustees.
July 21, 2006