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MILEPOSTS : For San Antonio, as well as
the rest of Texas and the entire US, the decade from 1930 to 1940 was
one of economic hardship, social change, labor unrest,
and gangster activities. Many San Antonians were affected
by the Depression when it began in 1929; the entire city
felt its effect when the City Central Bank and Trust closed
in 1931, taking with it municipal funds amounting to 20% of
the entire budget. Massive city layoffs and service
cut backs followed.
LAW ENFORCEMENT : Organized crime,
gangsters, alcohol and drugs, and social unrest during
the 1930s created a need for a new approach to law
enforcement, both locally and nationally. This was the decade
of John Dillenger, Baby Face Nelson, and the Texas
gangsters Bonnie and Clyde. The F.B.I., first organized in
1908, solidified its image as the "premier crime
fighters in the US" during the 1930s. In 1931 the Texas
Highway Patrol was created, and in 1936 the Texas
Rangers were downsized and combined with the Highway Patrol
into the newly-created
Texas Department of Public Safety.
This badge is
still worn by all SAPD officers today.
The photo to the left shows SAPD officers on the steps
of City Hall before they were ordered to remove Worker's
Alliance strikers who were occupying the building.
The 1930s saw widespread labor unrest and
strikes, including the famous Pecan Shellers' Strike of
1938.
The decade also saw numerous federally funded
construction projects in San Antonio as well as throughout
the rest of Texas and the US, part of the New Deal of President
Roosevelt. Projects in San Antonio included several
related to the 1936 Texas Centennial, the construction of
Alazan-Apache Courts, restoration of La Villita, and
the construction of Hugman's San Antonio River beautification
project.
During the 1930s the San Antonio Police Department
acquired new radio technology and faster cars. The
Department also found itself in the middle of several
labor protests, including the Workers' Alliance sit-in
at City Hall. The decade was one of the most dangerous in
SAPD's history for police officers : 8 were killed in
the line of duty, more than in any other previous decade,
even during the "wild west" days.
1930:
* POPULATION of San Antonio = 231,542
1933:
* SAPD Officers begin wearing a new badge,
designed by Chief Owen Kilday and Charles Simmang.
The cast badge (shown at LEFT) featured a shield with
the officer's number and the words "San Antonio Police
Department", topped by a
carefully rendered image of the Alamo.
1930s:
* During the 1930s SAPD improved its technology in
the areas of communications, pursuit vehicles, and
crime scene investigations.
* In 1932 a Police Radio broadcasting station is
constructed at Headquarters at a cost of $10,000.
* In 1934: SAPD purchases 4 new high-speed emergency
autos.
* By 1935: SAPD patrol cars and motorcycles are equipped with 2-way radios.
LEFT : Sgt. E.B. Haddox (later Chief) and
SAPD Shortwave Radio Dispatch in 1936.
RIGHT :
A map in the Dispatch Room with lights indicating sections
of the city where cars had been dispatched. (Emil Keuhn and
Sgt. E. Ankerson.)
1936:
* Texas Centennial Celebration provided
federal funds to San Antonio that were used to
purchase more land around
the Alamo, construct the Cenotaph, improve San
Jose Mission, improve the Sunken Gardens Ampitheater, and
construct the Memorial Building for Rangers, Pioneers and
Trail Drivers (next to Witte Museum).
1936:
* A clearance project ("slum clearance")
begins to raze sub-standard housing on the near west
side and begin plans for over 1,000 replacement units.
The Federal Housing Act of 1937 resulted
in the construction of Alazan-Apache Courts as the
first Federal Public Housing Project(completed in 1939-40).
1938:
* 12,000 pecan shellers walked off their jobs, led
by Emma Tenayuca, a leader of the Worker's Alliance, formed
by the Communist Party. The 3-month strike gained
international attention as massive arrests were made.
1939:
* Walter Harvey becomes Chief of Police on 06/01/39.
1939:
* Ray Ashworth becomes Chief of Police on 07/29/39, and
begins a three-year period of reorganizing SAPD.
1939:
* SAPD establishes its first formal Police Academy,
and graduates the first class of 24 officers.
1939:
* The School Safety Patrol program is organized
by SAPD, based on a program started by Sister Carmela
in St. Paul, MN.
1939:
* Construction begins on Hugman's 1929
plan for beautifying the San Antonio River, financed
by a WPA grant and a City bond issue. (Project is
completed in 1941; the present-day River Walk is the
result of that project.)
1939:
* WPA funds are also used to restore and
reconstruct La Villita (completed 1940-41).
1930s : IN MEMORY
For a list of SAPD Officers Killed in the Line of
Duty During the 1930s, Please click here
