Taunton Police Department, Massachusetts

Louis Edward Galligan  

Born on February 4, 1875 in Fairhaven, he was appointed to the Taunton Police Department on January 7, 1903. Galligan was promted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1913, a rank he held until his retirement in 1945. He died in Taunton on July 16, 1959.   

Jan 07, 1945 Taunton Daily Gazette page 2 The city council at their Tuesday night meeting, accepted the request for retirement from the police department, made by Lt. Louis E. Galligan. Bushy-browed and gruff Lt. Galligan, a veteran of 42 years of service as a policeman, officially retired on his 70th birthday, Feb 04. Only one man in the history of the department has exceeded this length of service. Deputy Chief James Cash, who died in 1926 had retired with 50 years' service. Employed as a baggage master with the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad back at the turn of the century, Galligan took the police examinations because he "just took a notion and wanted to see if I could pass it" On Jan 07, 1903, at the age of 27, he was appointed to the force by the late Mayor Richard E. Warner. Of the six men appointed at that time, Galligan is the last to retire. The other five were Lt. John Bagge, Sgt. Richard A. Perra, Patrolman Joseph Grady, and the late John S. O'Keefe, and Deputy Chief T. Edward Young, now court officer at the First District Court. Starting off on the "Depot Beat", Galligan served as a patrolman until Dec 16, 1913 when, after passing the examination with a mark of 92.1, he was appointed a lieutenant. For eight years he was on duty during the early morning hours on the first relief, then on Mar 21, 1921, he took charge of the plainclothes division including the liquor squad. From 1921 to 1926, while Prohibition was in force, the liquor squad under Lt. Galligan's direction broke case after case and hauled many a would-be still operators into court on liquor violation. Those were the days when illegal possession of liquor on almost every corner was the order of the day and daily raids were no novelty, and the lieutenant was a busy man. In 1926, a force headed by the police lieutenant broke up a "stolen car ring" and in the same year, he was transferred to general night duty. Serving under former Chief Lewis Ridley, Galligan was again put in charge of plainclothesmen, and in 1936 went into the central station as a desk man. For 24 years he has been attached to the office of the district attorney as court officer, presenting all district court appeals to the grand jury. He ends this service with the conclusion of the present session at the Superior Courthouse in February. "Crime? It's just about the same now as it was then." He said. "We have more modern methods of tracing criminals and they have more modern methods of crime, but the charges have changed little since I went on the force." Lt. Galligan has seen many changes take place in the department and he admits the efficiency of today is a far cry from methods of the early 1900s. There were no boxes to ring, no intricate signal system, no police radios. Instead, a patrolman called from the nearest telephone to report at prescribed intervals, the captain in charge of the shift would walk out to meet the policeman on his beat for a checkup. In case of emergency, headquarters would get in touch with the district man by telephoning along the beat. In place of the present day cruiser cars and patrol wagon, there was only the horse-drawn patrol – "not as big, but it was a fine looking wagon." In 42 years, Lt. Galligan has seen 12 chiefs of police come and go, and in the year of his retirement was serving under his 13th, Chief of Police J. William Flood. When he went on the force, there were 26 men as compared with the 48 now in the department. Asked about how it felt to look back over such a long period of service, Galligan said, "It doesn't seem so long. The only thing I notice is that physically I've slowed up. What do I remember about cases I've worked on? Lots of things. But I have never felt that I have any moral right, to speak of cases that were settled by court action. They were settled then and the man in almost every case paid his full penalty. Many a time someone would stub their toe, serve a sentence, and straighten out. It does not seem fair to me to make up stories which are better left alone. Any story I might tell would involve men or women now in the city who are living good lives today so it would be better to just let t go." When a comparison in the crime rate in Taunton during World War II and World War I was suggested, he answered. "I think, if anything there is less crime among civilians during this war than at the time of World War I. Of course we have no army camp with the various misdemeanors of the soldiers, but on the whole, I believe there is less crime. Taunton is no worse than any other city of its size generally speaking, and in fact I think the percentage of crime is lower than most." At the age of 70, with 42 years as a "cop" behind him, Lt. Louis E. Galligan is retiring as in the words of every man in the department – "one of the best men that's ever worked on this force." Friday Jul 17, 1959 Taunton Daily Gazette page 1 Retired Taunton police lieutenant Louis E. Galligan, 84, of 8 Winthrop Place, died at his home yesterday afternoon after a long illness. Lt. Galligan headed the police liquor squad during the prohibition era and for a number of years was head of the police plainclothes squad. For 25 years he was prosecuting officer for the department in Bristol County Superior Court. He was a widower of Margaret (Shea) Galligan. Appointed to the police department in 1903 by Mayor Richard E. Warner, he was appointed Lieutenant in 1913 and was retired in 1945. Lt. Galligan was born in Fairhaven, son of Michael and Anna (Galligan) Galligan. He is survived by four daughters and one son, Louis E. Galligan Jr. of Taunton. His daughters are Sister Mary De Chantal of Maryknoll, NY, and Sister Paul Miriam of Topsfield, both Maryknoll nuns; Mrs. John (Alma) Ghiberti of Lakeville and Mrs. Michael (Ruth) McCarthy of Taunton. He also leaves a sister, Anne Galligan of this city. He was a member of the Holy Name Society of St. Joseph's Church and the Massachusetts Police Relief Association.