As CPD officers described it, a familiar name is back on the beat and patrolling Columbus once again.
It’s been more than 30 years since the late Cleon Sweeney, who wore CPD Badge #001, retired from the Columbus Police Department. But he has never been forgotten.
Nearly three dozen people — including many members of Sweeney’s family – gathered to be introduced to K-9 Cleon, a German Shepherd named in honor of the 36-year veteran officer who died in July 2015.
According to his daughter, Amy Sweeney Gray, it was an honor that her father would have truly enjoyed.
"I’m sure he’s looking down from heaven with a big smile," the daughter said. "We now have another dedicated Cleon out on the streets today."
Her husband, Matt Gray, described his late father-in-law as "the embodiment of the term ‘protect and serve’."
While the memory of Sweeney was being honored, nobody minded when K9 Cleon began to steal both the show and hearts during the ceremony outside the police department Thursday.
Although some police K-9s tend to be averse to allowing strangers to pet them or to interact with anyone other than their handler socially, K-9 Cleon will, and did allow guests to give him some affectionate greetings, "until I tell him otherwise," said his handler, Officer John Busack.
"Being selected as a canine officer is on the of the most fulfilling things in my life," Busack said of his assignment as handler of K-9 Cleon. "What these dogs are capable of understanding and doing is astonishing. K-9 Cleon and I are building a strong bond and I love learning and working together with him."
Born in late 2019 in Poland, K-9 Cleon now spends all of his time with Busack, who has been with CPD for two years. The two completed six weeks of intense training at the F.M. K9 training center in Berrien Center, Michigan in late March. The course included tracking, detecting narcotics, finding evidence and forcefully stopping a fleeing suspect, Busack said.
One interesting note from Busack is that K-9 Cleon will only respond to commands spoken in German, and doesn’t accept any orders in English.
Since returning from Michigan, K-9 Cleon has already tracked down narcotics in vehicles as many as 20 times, his handler said.
It was Busack who suggested naming his K-9 partner after the late Cleon Sweeney. The name was chosen because Busack said he had heard so much about the officer, and how much Sweeney had meant to his peers.
While Sweeney’s popularity might have begun when he was a star athlete at Columbus High School in the late 1940s, it continued after he returned home from the Korean War as a war hero in the early 1950s, Matt Gray said.
Marine Corporal Cleon Sweeney was honored after he rescued several Marines suffering from smoke inhalation inside a burning tent, he said. Among the honors received was the Purple Heart.
Sweeney gave up an athletic college scholarship because all he ever wanted to be was a Columbus Police Officer, Matt Gray said. He was content during his career being a patrolman, but still earned the respect of other officers, he said.
But what really made Sweeney a popular officer over many decades was that "he was very approachable, extremely nice and really cared about other people," Amy Sweeney Gray said.
Her father was known to take groceries to struggling families and individuals, she said.
"Our dad was always so very proud that he had spent his life’s work as a police officer on the Columbus Police Department," his daughter Stacy Sweeney said. "Dad was the embodiment of the term ‘to protect and serve’ and did that for 36 years. The fact that this fine department has chosen to memorialize him in this manner means more to our family than words can express. We only hope that this new K-9 officer comes to experience the love and support from CPD and this entire community to the extend our Dad did. Thank you CPD for remembering him."
One of the proudest members of the late officer’s family was 11-year-old granddaughter Addison Satterfield, who was only 3 when Cleon Sweeney died at the age of 84.
"This makes me feel very happy,’ Addison said. "I’m just so proud of (my grandfather) for working very hard, trying his best, and doing a lot of good stuff for Columbus."
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Born in 1930, Cleon Sweeney graduated from Columbus High School in 1949. He was a standout athlete participating in football, track and baseball.
Although the Army attempted to draft him, Sweeney instead volunteered to join the U.S. Marine Corps. He attained the rank of corporal while serving during the Korean War from from 1951 to 1954.
Although he was offered a track scholarship to Franklin College, he declined it in order to pursue what he considered his dream job.
On May 1, 1954, he got that job when Sweeney was sworn in as a Columbus Police officer. He joined the force just as the department began issuing badge numbers, which is why he was known as Badge #001.
Over the next 36 years, Sweeney could be found either walking the beat, directing traffic downtown or providing security at home basketball games.
Sweeney was named Officer of the Year by the Fraternal Order of Police in 1975. On May 1, 1982, former Columbus Mayor Nancy Ann Brown proclaimed it as “Cleon Sweeney Day."
His 36 years as a CPD officer is considered one of the longest in the city’s history.
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