The first African-American to head the police department in Akron passed away over the weekend.

Few details are available but sources in the Akron police department confirmed the death of Edward J. Irvine.

Irvine joined the force in 1963 and was one of only seven black police officers on the force; he rose through the ranks to become chief. During his tenure, detectives investigating the murder of Dr. Margo Prade centered on her ex-husband, police Captain Doug Prade, as her killer. That case has moved in and out of the courts ever since. Irvine also had a contentious relationship with the Akron Beacon Journal, highlighted by a lawsuit after he'd retired charging the newspaper's unmanned telemarketing was harassment when the robo-calls pounded his home phone number during the "quiet hours" imposed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Funeral arrangements have not been released.