Chief Thomas E. Hawley
(May 4, 1866 – March 20, 1951)

Thomas E. Hawley was born in Fort Howard, WI, along the west banks of the Fox River, which now comprises Green Bay’s west side. He was one of eleven children. His father, Thomas Hawley Sr., first gained fame in 1871 during the “Great Peshtigo Fire” when he sailed his steamer the “Union” into Peshtigo’s blazing docks rescuing dozens.

Like many young men in those days, Thomas E. Hawley completed grammar school, but skipped high school and went worked to help support the family. He was as a cabin boy, wheelsman, and handyman on his father’s boat. He also tried his hand at buying horses and cattle. However, this work was rather mundane and he wanted to try something different. In his early 20’s he applied for a post with the Fort Howard Police, but was turned down because, according to the chief, he was a “little light.” Hawley stormed out of the office stating that he could handle himself. Hawley was not one to easily give up and later applied for a post with the Green Bay Police Department, which is where his legacy began.

Hawley began his career with the City of Green Bay on May 3, 1893. A mere four years later, on August 17, 1897 (at age 32) he became Chief of Police. He continued to serve as chief for the city until June 1, 1946, completing 53 years of service, 49 of them as chief.*

Chief Hawley served under 14 different mayors and through his leadership the department continually moved forward with new ideas and programs to increase the effectiveness of crime prevention and detection.

On July 20, 1931, at the age of 65, Hawley and three other officers engaged in a daring shoot out with five machine gun wielding gangsters that had just robbed the South Side State Bank. A combination of bravery, quick thinking, a large oak tree, and a bit of luck are credited with saving his life on that day when one bullet passed through the top of his hat, nearly striking his head. He was wounded by shards of glass embedded in his chest and hospitalized for a couple of days. He made a full recovery and continued his dedicated service.

The retired Chief Hawley was “feted” at a large retirement dinner in 1946 that was attended by hundreds of members of the community, and law enforcement officers from throughout the Midwest, including the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover sent a personal letter of congratulations. The impact that Chief Hawley made on the community and the entire law enforcement profession is best summed up by the words of then agent in charge of the Cleveland FBI Office and keynote speaker, Harry T. O’Connor, who said, “It is impossible to evaluate the contribution that Tom Hawley has made to the well-being of this com¬munity. He has brought to his profession a set of high ideals which have had an incalculable influence for good, not only upon the men immediately around him in his own profession, but upon men in all occupations — as the representation at this banquet proves. For more than half a century this public official, prominently placed in his community, has radiated goodness, justice, and integrity.”

Hawley retired to his modest home at 514 Kellogg Street on the city’s near west side. His plan? To spend much needed time with the love of his life, his wife, Mrs. Catherine Hawley. But his well-deserved rest and recuperation wouldn’t last more than five years. On March 22, 1951, Hawley died of a broken heart. A few months earlier, he lost his wife to illness followed by the death of his brother, who was killed in a freak car accident at the mouth of the Fox River. These factors were believed to have contributed to the breakdown in his health. At the age of 84, this legend was laid to rest in the Fort Howard Cemetery surrounded by those family members who had preceded him.

*According to the authority on world records and a November 28, 2001 AP news article entitled, “Florida chief holds service record”, the current title of “Longest Serving Police Chief” belongs to Millard Jordan of Lawtey (Florida) Police Department. Chief Lawtey had served for 39 years and is still chief today, bringing his total to 43 years, still 6 years less than Chief Hawley.

Learn more about Chief Hawley in “True Crime in Titletown, U.S.A. ~ Cold Cases.”