On Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 0900, the Scott County Sheriff's Office will hold a Promotional Ceremony at the Sheriff's Office Headquarters at 3206 South 16th Avenue in Eldridge.  Sergeant Tom Leonard will be promoted to Lieutenant and Deputy Eric Burton will be promoted to Sergeant.

 

Thomas Leonard is originally from Clinton County and graduated from East Central in 2001.  He attended the University of Northern Iowa; where, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology in 2004. Thomas started his career in law enforcement in 2002 with the Sabula Police Department and graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in July of 2005. In 2005, he was hired as a Police Office for the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  During this time he worked in patrol, bike patrol, and was a Field Training Officer (FTO).  In February of 2008 he was hired by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office. Thomas was assigned to patrol for his first five years before becoming a detective in the Criminal Investigations Division.  As a detective he was assigned to supervise the known registered sex offenders in Scott County along with dealing with crimes against children.  Thomas led multiple successful sex offender sweeps during this time and was also the lead investigator in a major multi-state sex assault case which led to multiple arrests in 2014.  In 2015, he was assigned to administration as a subject matter expert / technology coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office.  During this time he worked on a number of technology projects and advancements that would assist the Sheriff’s Office.  In 2017 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, where he was assigned to oversee the Civil Division where a number of positive changes have been made.   During his time with the Sheriff’s Office, Thomas has been a Field Training Officer and was a member of the Emergency Service Team, stepping down in 2017.  He is also a certified instructor for standardized field sobriety testing, radar/lidar, general studies (Reserve Deputies), and a number of other computer programs that are used within the Sheriff’s Office.  Thomas currently resides in Eldridge with his wife and three children.

 

Eric Burton was born in Rock Island, IL and raised in Davenport, IA.  He graduated from Davenport North High School and then St. Ambrose University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree and majored in Criminal Justice. While at St. Ambrose, Eric was a four year letter winner on the soccer team. Deputy Burton’s law enforcement career began in 2005 with the Erie, IL Police Department in Whiteside County.  After two years there, he briefly worked for the East Moline, IL Police Department before being hired by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office in 2007. In 2009, he was assigned as a narcotics agent with the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group (Quad City MEG) for 3 ½ years, where he spent time as a certified K-9 handler with his canine partner, Guinness.  Eric has spent the last five years as a detective with the Scott County Special Operations Unit Task Force investigating narcotic offenses.  During Eric's time with the Sheriff's Office, he was a certified Special Response Team operator for 11 years, and represented the Deputy Sheriff's Association on the project team during building negotiations for the current patrol headquarters. Deputy Burton is currently a certified Field Training Officer and a certified instructor for drug trends. Eric currently resides in Bettendorf with his wife and two children.