Conrad Austin: Difference between revisions
m (Conrad W. Austin moved to Conrad Austin) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Conrad | '''Conrad Wall Austin''' was [[List of Birmingham police chiefs|Chief]] of the [[Birmingham Police Department]] from [[1898]] to [[1901]], a period when the position was elected at-large by city voters. | ||
Austin was the son of [[W. D. Austin]], one of [[Birmingham]]'s early patrolmen. He graduated from [[Birmingham High School]] and followed his father's footsteps into the force at the age of 20. He spent six years as a constable before being elected Chief in the [[1898 Birmingham mayoral election]] that brought [[Mel Drennen]]'s administration to power, partly on the promise to more strenuously enforce [[Blue Laws]] that kept businesses closed on Sundays. | Austin was the son of [[W. D. Austin]], one of [[Birmingham]]'s early patrolmen. He graduated from [[Birmingham High School]] and followed his father's footsteps into the force at the age of 20. He spent six years as a constable before being elected Chief in the [[1898 Birmingham mayoral election]] that brought [[Mel Drennen]]'s administration to power, partly on the promise to more strenuously enforce [[Blue Laws]] that kept businesses closed on Sundays. | ||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
{{Start box}} | {{Start box}} | ||
{{Succession box | title=[[List of Birmingham police chiefs|Chief of Birmingham Police Department]] | | {{Succession box | title=[[List of Birmingham police chiefs|Chief of Birmingham Police Department]] | | ||
years=[[1898]] | years=[[1898]]–[[1901]] | | ||
before=[[Thomas McDonald]] | after=[[William Wier]] }} | before=[[Thomas McDonald]] | after=[[William Wier]] }} | ||
{{End box}} | {{End box}} | ||
Revision as of 17:30, 1 September 2014
Conrad Wall Austin was Chief of the Birmingham Police Department from 1898 to 1901, a period when the position was elected at-large by city voters.
Austin was the son of W. D. Austin, one of Birmingham's early patrolmen. He graduated from Birmingham High School and followed his father's footsteps into the force at the age of 20. He spent six years as a constable before being elected Chief in the 1898 Birmingham mayoral election that brought Mel Drennen's administration to power, partly on the promise to more strenuously enforce Blue Laws that kept businesses closed on Sundays.
As Chief, Austin announced the Anti-Spitting Law of 1899 and oversaw the department's move into the new Birmingham City Hall in 1901. After leaving office he managed the Commercial Detective Bureau with offices on the fifth floor of the Jefferson County Savings Bank Building.
Austin ran unsuccessfully to return to office in the 1907 Birmingham mayoral election. In 1911 he had his own C. W. Austin's Secret Service Agency with offices on the 2nd floor of the Woodward Building. In 1914 he helped investigate corruption in the department in his capacity as a private detective, and claimed credit for the ouster of Chief George Bodeker on suspicion that he had accepted bribes from bordellos and gambling houses. In 1915 his agency had moved to the 4th floor of the Brown-Marx Building, just one floor above the newly-opened Bodeker's National Detective Agency.
Austin later headed the Alabama Law Enforcement Bureau, whose undercover agents were active in suppressing organized labor in the state.
| Preceded by: Thomas McDonald |
Chief of Birmingham Police Department 1898–1901 |
Succeeded by: William Wier |
References
- "Will of People to be Expressed Monday: Wide Interest in Democratic Primary." (February 16, 1907) Birmingham News
- Austin, C. W. (December 19, 1914) letter to the publisher, published January 30, 1915 in The Freeman. Indianapolis, Indiana