Thomas Shirley
Thomas J. Shirley was Chief of the Birmingham Police Department from 1917 to 1921 and Jefferson County Sheriff from 1932 to 1927.
Shirley ran unsuccessfully for Police Chief in the 1910 Birmingham municipal election, losing to George Bodeker. Bodeker's successor, Martin Eagan, promoted him to Chief of Detectives in 1916.
Shirley was appointed to succeed Eagan, a Catholic, a year later by the first official act of incoming Mayor Nathaniel Barrett, whose campaign had been supported by the True Americans and the Ku Klux Klan. Eagan resigned rather than accept his demotion to patrolman.
Shirley, who rose to the rank of "Imperial Klexter" in the national Klan by 1924, was serving as chief when St Paul's Catholic Church pastor James Coyle was murdered by Edwin Stephenson in 1921. During Grand Jury proceedings against Stephenson, Shirley provided testimony about the murder investigation, as well as his previous efforts to help Stephenson retrieve his daughter when she had fled the household.
Shirley was succeeded, during the administration of David McLendon, by Fred McDuff. He was elected to the Sheriff's office in 1923 and served one four year term. He went on to serve as warden of the Kilby Prison in Montgomery.
Shirley also served as treasurer for the Alabama Children and Animal Rescue League. He and his sons founded a real estate company in Birmingham in 1927.
| Preceded by: Martin Eagan |
Chief of Birmingham Police Department 1917–1921 |
Succeeded by: Fred H. McDuff |
| Preceded by: J. Chris Hartsfield |
Jefferson County Sheriff 1923–1927 |
Succeeded by: J. Chris Hartsfield |
References
- Davies, Sharon (2009) Rising Road:A True Tale of Love, Race, and Religion in America. New York, New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0195379799