John Joseph O'Connor and the "Layover Agreement"
(One Person's Observations)
Layover Agreement Chronology
March 9, 1881:
In March of 1881 John Joseph O'Connor was appointed police detective by newly elected (first term) Democratic Mayor William Dawson.
June 24, 1881:
Louis W. Thomas was appointed to the position of patrolman, the first black police officer in the history of the department… thirty years before a black was appointed in New York City.
January 21, 1883:
The city purchased its first "Black Maria" workhouse van from the Fire Extinguisher Co., of Chicago, for $600. Patrolman John Rooney made the daily workhouse trips. It was replaced by a van built by the J.H. Schurmlier Wagon & Carriage Company, of Saint Paul, for $325, less an allowance of $25 for the old van, on October 27, 1897. The original workhouse van is on display in the West District lobby.
c. 1885:
The rank of lieutenant was added to the force, a police patrol telegraph system consisting of thirty-two alarm boxes was developed, and a telephone service was initiated. One year later, fifteen sentry boxes with telephones were erected throughout the city. An original telegraph "Call Box" is on display in the Police Headquarters museum.
c. 1885:
A six-member Mounted Patrol Unit was appointed, augmenting existing bicycle and foot patrols. By 1910, the patrol grew to seventeen members before yielding to the advent of a new motorized patrol. Mounted officers were allowed an extra allowance for the maintenance of their horses. The last remaining horse, granddaughter of famous racing horse Dan Patch, was put to pasture in 1927. Both Mounted Patrol and Bicycle Patrol displays can be seen in the West District lobby.
March 9, 1885:
In March of 1885 John J. O'Connor was promoted to chief of detectives by Chief John Clark and newly elected (second term) Democratic Mayor Edmund Rice.
May 1, 1887:
Decentralization of the department occurred with the opening of four new police substations, and the city divided into five districts. The same year brought about the rigorously fixed standard of admission to the police service. All applicants were to be citizens of the United States, under thirty-five years of age, and must physically meet all the tests and requirements exacted of soldiers before enlistment in the U.S. Army.
June 7, 1892:
In June of 1892, with a newly elected (first term) Republican Mayor Frederick P. Wright, John J. O'Connor resigned from the police department.
June 5, 1894:
In June of 1894, with a newly elected (second term) Democratic Mayor, Robert A. Smith, John J. O'Connor was reappointed chief of detectives.
February 16, 1896:
1896 saw twenty-eight lines of railway and 400 trains arriving and departing the city of Saint Paul on a daily basis; uniformed officers and detectives were assigned to the depot to watch for criminals, and to put them on the next train out of town.
June 2, 1896:
In June of 1896, with a newly elected mayor, Frank Doran, John J. O'Connor again resigned from the police department.
April 1897:
"Rogues' Gallery" cabinet with a capacity of 1,536 photos purchased (over 500 "mug shots" ready for display).
November 8, 1898:
John J. O'Connor elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing Saint Paul's District 36 in the state's Thirty-first Legislative Session (1899-1900).
June 9, 1900 – February 29, 1912:
In June of 1900 John J. "the Big Fellow" O'Connor was appointed chief of police by newly elected (third term) Democratic mayor, Robert A. Smith. A veteran with thirteen years on the department O'Connor had previously been chief of detectives. His "layover agreement" with visiting gangsters establishes the foundation for a later crime wave based in Saint Paul. It should be noted that at the time of O'Connor's appointment his brother Richard T. "the Cardinal" O'Connor, who had held several political positions, was a member of the police commission.
c. 1900 – 1913:
William H. "Reddy" Griffin was the original go-between with Chief O'Connor's department and the criminal element, working out of the Hotel Savoy, 820 Minnesota Street, a gamblers' hang-out in downtown Saint Paul, and later to an office at 14 West Sixth Street (adjacent to what later became the Garrick parking ramp), until his natural death in 1913.
December 25, 1900:
A gold chief of police badge with a diamond in center was presented to John J. O'Connor by the department on Christmas 1900 (inscribed on back). It was later turned over to Chief Thomas E. Dahill by the O'Connor family on May 22, 1933, and placed into secure storage. On April 14, 1978 the badge was turned over to the departmental historian by Chief Richard R. Rowan. It is now a part of the Saint Paul Police Historical Society collection.
c. 1901:
The Hansom Squad was created to control traffic in the downtown area with the assistance of light two-wheeled covered horse-drawn carriages called a hansom.
January 1, 1901:
The Bertillon System of Identification is in full operation. By the time that the conversion to the Henry method of fingerprint classification took place in 1917, there were over 130,000 records, including mug shots, in the identification registry. An original calipers used in Bertillon measurements is on display in the police headquarters museum.
June 3, 1902:
The city of Saint Paul, through its police department, got into the emergency ambulance service with the purchase of a horse-drawn enclosed wagon, obtained with proceeds collected from a Saint Paul-Minneapolis Police benefit baseball game. Medical doctors rode in the wagon and were available 24/7.
January 3, 1905:
Patrolman Richard Cronin17 suffered a fatal heart attack after being assaulted during an arrest in January of 1905. Cronin was the fifth Saint Paul police officer to be killed in the Line-of-duty. His wife was Chief John J. O'Connor's cousin. The Police Memorial Wall, including bronze plaque for the slain officer, can be observed in the Police Headquarters lobby.
July 6, 1908:
The F.B.I. was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (B.O.I.). Its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) in 1935. Title 18 USC §3052 contains the powers of the F.B.I., including the carrying of weapons throughout the country, irrespective of state and/or local regulations.
c. 1909:
The Motorcycle Squad was started, consisting of two men and their machines. The use of motorcycles reached its peak in the 1920s with the addition of fifteen "flying squads" to provide maximum coverage at outlying crime scenes. A 1964 Harley-Davidson Servicar three-wheeler is on display in the West District lobby. Said vehicles were used for traffic and parking enforcement.
February 29, 1912:
In February of 1912, with a newly elected (second term) Republican Mayor Herbert P. Keller, John J. O'Connor resigned from the police department.
July 4, 1912:
With the increase of motor vehicles in the city, a Traffic Squad was commissioned. Further motorization of the department started in the same year with the purchase of a "White" squad wagon and a "Chalmers" five-passenger touring car. It was not until 1914, however, that the department purchased automobiles specifically suited for police patrol.
17 Richard Cronin was appointed patrolman March 10, 1867; was assigned night jailer (acting) and patrol wagon conductor at the Margaret Street Substation in about 1903; and was fatally assaulted while conducting an arrest shortly after midnight on Tuesday, January 3, 1905.