Thomas F. Byrnes

Thomas F. Byrnes (June 15, 1842 – May 7, 1910) was an Irish-born American police officer, who served as head of the New York City Police Department detective department from 1880 until 1895, who popularized the terms "rogues' gallery" and "third degree".[1]

For the American politician from New York, see Thomas F. Byrnes (politician).

Thomas F. Byrnes
Photograph of Byrnes published in his 1886 book Professional Criminals of America
BornJune 15, 1842
Dublin, Ireland
DiedMay 7, 1910(1910-05-07) (aged 67)
Manhattan, New York City
Signature

Biography

Born in Dublin, Ireland to James and Rose Byrnes, he immigrated to New York City as a child. He worked as a skilled gas-fitter until the start of the Civil War. He enlisted with Elmer E. Ellsworth's "Zouaves" in 1861 and served two years with that unit. After his service, Byrnes became a firefighter, joining Hose Company No. 21 in New York City. He remained as a firefighter until December 10, 1863, when he was appointed a police officer.[2]

Insignia of Byrnes' regiment, the 11th N.Y (1861)

Byrnes rose in the ranks, first as a patrolman, then becoming a sergeant in 1869 and a captain in 1870. He gained renown through solving the Manhattan Savings Bank robbery of 1878. He became Detective Bureau chief in 1880.[3] As inspector, Byrnes quickly won national distinction. He increased the detective force from 28 to 40 men. In four years it made 3,300 arrests. In 1882, he obtained legislative approval of changes in the department which gave him immense power. In 1886, Byrnes instituted the "Mulberry Street Morning Parade" of arrested suspects before the assembled detectives in the hope they would recognize suspects and link them to more crimes. Also that year, his book Professional Criminals of America[4] was published. He built up a book of photographs of criminals, which he called the "Rogues' Gallery".

Bandit's Roost, a Mulberry Street back alley, photographed by Jacob Riis in 1888. An example of the jurisdiction Byrnes was tasked with policing.

Byrnes was one of the people who popularized the third degree due to his brutal questioning of suspected criminals. From the descriptions, the third degree as practiced by Byrnes was a combination of physical and psychological torture.[5] Byrnes's techniques were popularized in a series of novels by his friend Julian Hawthorne, son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, including The Great Bank Robbery, An American Penman, and A Tragic Mystery in 1887 and Section 558 and Another's Crime in 1888.[6] Jacob A. Riis, who as police reporter for the New York Sun knew Byrnes well, declared that he was "a great actor", and hence a great detective. Riis called him an unscrupulous "big policeman" and a veritable giant in his time.[7]

In 1891, three years after publicly criticizing London police officials on the way they handled the Jack the Ripper investigations, Byrnes was faced with a similar crime in New York. Amid mammoth publicity, Byrnes accused an Algerian, Ameer Ben Ali (nicknamed Frenchy) of the crime. He was convicted despite the evidence against him being doubtful, but pardoned eleven years later.[8] Byrnes also successfully obtained a confession from gang leader Mike McGloin, who was convicted and executed for the murder of a tavern-owner during a robbery.

In 1895, the new president of the New York City Police Commission, future President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, compelled him to resign as part of Roosevelt's drive to rid the force of corruption.[9] In later life, Byrnes became an insurance investigator, opening a detective agency on Wall Street.

The television documentary Secrets of New York episode of October 22, 2013, credited Byrnes as "a man who invented America's modern detective bureau."[10]

Death

He died on May 7, 1910, at 9 o'clock at his home, 318 West Seventy-seventh Street, of stomach cancer. He was surrounded by his wife Ophelia and five daughters.[1] His funeral was at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament at Broadway and Seventy-first Street in Manhattan, New York City.[11]

In fiction

References
  1. "Ex-chief Byrnes Dies Of Cancer. Best Known of All the City's Police Officials Had Been Ill Since August". New York Times. May 8, 1910.
  2. History of the New York Fire Department, Ch. 32, Part II Archived 2006-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
  3. New York Press article about Byrnes, by William Bryk Archived June 27, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Byrnes, Thomas. Professional Criminals of America Vol 3. New York: Cassell and Company 1886.
  5. XIII. Roosevelt comes—Mulberry Street’s Golden Age. Riis, Jacob A. 1901. The Making of an American
  6. Panek, LeRoy Lad. The Origins of the American Detective Story. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.: 2006: 21. ISBN 978-0-7864-2776-5
  7. America The Story of Us — Episode 7: Cities — History.com Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Wolf Vanderlinden, "The New York Affair" Ripper Notes -- part one issue 16 (July 2003); part two #17 (January 2004), part three #19 (July 2004 ISBN 0-9759129-0-9)
  9. Investigative Historical Timeline Archived 2006-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Secrets of New York We the Italians
  11. "Notables At Byrnes Funeral. Representatives Of City Life Honor Former Head Of Police Department". New York Times. May 11, 1910.
  12. Panek, LeRoy Lad. The Origins of the American Detective Story. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.: 2006: 21. ISBN 978-0-7864-2776-5
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