Man convicted of killing Cedar Rapids Police Officer dies in prison

FORT MADISON - A man convicted of killing a Cedar Rapids police office in 1984 died in prison on Sunday.

Iowa Correctional officials announced the death of Leonard Eugene Berg, 76, on Monday. Authorities said Berg, who was assigned to the Iowa State Penitentiary, was discovered unresponsive with no heartbeat or breathing during a routine bed check. Medical staff were dispatched and Berg was pronounced dead.

Berg died of natural causes from coronary artery disease. His sentence began on June 18, 1985.

Berg was convicted of the shooting death of Officer Bret Sunner in June of 1984.

Sunner was responding to a domestic disturbance call at the time.

The city of Cedar Rapids dedicated a park area along the Cedar River to the memory of Officer Sunner. That park was absorbed by the construction of the McGrath Amphitheatre. However, the city dedicated a new area to the memory of Sunner near the police station in 2014.