Detective, 59, worked many high-profile cases over 30 years in Akron

By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer

Ed Duvall Jr. is pictured with his dog, Brisco, in this 1999 file photo.

A savvy and tenacious investigator who played no favorites — that was the consensus opinion of retired Akron police officer Lt. John ''Ed'' Duvall, who died Saturday morning at the age of 59.

Lt. Duvall, who moved to the Columbus area to take a job with the Ohio Department of Public Safety after retiring from the Akron Police Department in 1999, had been battling cancer.

''He was the best investigator I ever knew,'' said Deputy Chief Craig V. Gilbride, who worked with Lt. Duvall for more than 20 years.

''He was a pit bull. When he sunk his teeth in a case he didn't let go,'' Gilbride said.

In his nearly 30-year career with the Akron police department, Lt. Duvall worked on some of the city's most infamous and renowned cases.

In the late 1970s and early '80s, he was one of two officers assigned to the department's public corruption unit. Investigations by that unit resulted in the convictions of seven public officials, including Summit County Probate Judge James V. Barbuto on charges of intimidation and gross sexual imposition and coroner A.H. Kyriakides on a charge of theft in office.

Lt. Duvall was the lead investigator and key witness in the 1997 trial in the murder of Dr. Margo Prade. Lt. Duvall's efforts led to the arrest, conviction and life sentence of police Capt. Douglas Prade, who was his former partner.

''With Eddie, there were no shades of gray. It didn't matter who you were, he never played favorites. If you were wrong, you were wrong,'' Gilbride said.

Akron Police Chief Michael Matulavich called Lt. Duvall an ''iconic'' police officer with a ''reputation for professionalism and high values.''

In 1998, the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association presented him with the Outstanding Peace Officer of the Year award.

''He was a cop's cop. . . . He will be extremely missed,'' Matulavich said.

Fred Zuch, former chief of the criminal division of the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, said he and Lt. Duvall worked on some ''big cases . . . high-profile corruption.''

As a detective, Zuch said, Lt. Duvall ''was as good as it gets. . . . Not only was he a great observer, he had the ability to understand human nature. And he was fearless.''

Zuch called Lt. Duvall an innovator who was on the cutting edge of policing when it came to internal affairs and child-abuse cases.

Teachers throughout Summit County were very familiar with Lt. Duvall through the numerous lectures he gave on the subject of child abuse, a crime that he took very seriously.

''He was one of the premier law enforcement officers,'' Zuch said.

''He was my friend and the brother I never had,'' said Lt. Duvall's longtime partner, Helmut Klemm, a retired Akron police detective.

''Ed and his father were the best two cops I ever knew,'' said Klemm, speaking of his partner's father, Ed Duvall Sr., who died at the age of 80 in 2002. The elder Duvall served 38 years in law enforcement, 30 with the Akron department.

Klemm credited Lt. Duvall's lineage as a key to his success as a police officer.

''He inherited a tremendous amount from his father,'' Klemm said.

Like the others, Klemm spoke of Lt. Duvall's energy and focus along with his ''principled and professional'' approach to the job.

''I was out fishing in the Gulf of Mexico when I heard the news (of his death). The last time I was fishing in the Gulf, I was fishing with Ed. That was back in 1981,'' he said. ''This has been a real blow. He was a hell of a good man. I love him and miss him.''

Lt. Duvall is survived by his wife, Mary, and three adult children.

His funeral will be Friday in Reynoldsburg. Calling hours are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 11 a.m. to noon Friday at the Pfeifer Funeral Home, 7915 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg.