Thomas F. Byrnes | |
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 Photograph of Byrnes published in his 1886 bookProfessional Criminals of America | |
| Born | June 15, 1842 |
| Died | May 7, 1910(1910-05-07) (aged 67) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
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Thomas F. Byrnes (June 15, 1842 – May 7, 1910) was an Irish-born Americanpolice officer, who served as head of theNew York City Police Department detective department from 1880 until 1895, who popularized the terms "rogues' gallery" and "third degree".[1]
Born inDublin, Ireland to James and Rose Byrnes, he immigrated toNew York City as a child. He worked as a skilled gas-fitter until the start of the Civil War. He enlisted withElmer 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]
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 becameDetective 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 bookProfessional Criminals of America[4] was published. He built up a book of photographs of criminals, which he called the "Rogues' Gallery".
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 friendJulian Hawthorne, son of novelistNathaniel Hawthorne, includingThe Great Bank Robbery,An American Penman, andA Tragic Mystery in 1887 andSection 558 andAnother's Crime in 1888.[6]Jacob A. Riis, who as police reporter for theNew 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 theJack the Ripper investigations, Byrnes was faced with asimilar crime in New York. Amid mammoth publicity, Byrnes accused anAlgerian, 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 leaderMike 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 StatesTheodore 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 documentarySecrets of New York episode of October 22, 2013, credited Byrnes as "a man who invented America's modern detective bureau."[10]
He died on May 7, 1910, at 9 o'clock at his home, 318 West Seventy-seventh Street, ofstomach cancer. He was surrounded by his wife Ophelia and five daughters.[1] His funeral was at theChurch of the Blessed Sacrament at Broadway and Seventy-first Street inManhattan, New York City.[11]
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