Mobile Police Department History
On April 1, 1909, Vincent A. Giblin was selected as Chief and remained in office until his death on June 17, 1912. A former City Councilman, Walter F. Walsh was elected as the next Chief and served until October, 1914. Frank Crenshaw was selected in October, 1914 as the next chief.
Gilbert Van Liew was appointed as Chief in October, 1915, and served two years until October 2, 1917. On December 1, 1917, Patrick J. O'Shaughnessy of Utica, New York, was appointed Chief of Police by Mayor Pat Lyons.
It was during the administration of Chief O'Shaughnessy that federal indictments were returned against the Chief; numerous public officials and over seventy citizens accused him of various crimes relating to bootlegging and gambling. In April, 1918, City officials engaged a private detective agency to conduct an undercover investigation of the Mobile Police Department. The investigation failed to produce results, and the City refused to pay the bill submitted by the agency from New Orleans. The original bill was $402.50 and the City finally paid the agency $300.00 to settle the claim. Finally, after years of rumors, Chief O'Shaughnessy was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on December 15, 1923. Chief O'Shaughnessy was suspended on December 16, 1923, and resigned on December 22, 1923.
On December 24, 1923, Judge Jesse F. Hogan agreed to accept the position as Chief of Police for a period of one year. Judge Hogan was good for his word and resigned as Chief on December 24, 1924. Exactly one year later Warren Burch was selected as the next Chief on December 24, 1924, and served until May 10, 1938. At that time Chief Burch had served the longest term as Chief in the history of the Mobile Police Department. Eddie Warren was selected to replace Chief Burch and served as Chief until September 30, 1941.
