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St. Paul Police Oral History Project: Interview with Laurence Francis McDonald

St. Paul Police Oral History Project: Interview with Laurence Francis McDonald

Titles: St. Paul Police Oral History Project: Interview with Laurence Francis McDonald (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Laurence Francis McDonald was appointed patrolman for the St. Paul Police Department July 11, 1955. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1966, to Lieutenant in 1971, to Captain in 1989. He was awarded the Medal of Merit in 1993. Laurence retired in 1995. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life and becoming a cop; police exam; park police; the communities negative perception of the police department; improving police training; recruiting new police officers; social unrest in the 1960s; Housing Environmental Liaison and Police Program [HELP]; community policing/team policing; Black community in St. Paul; training new officers; department psychologist Bob Hobart; becoming a regional training center for other departments; starting a K-9 unit; policing the west side of St. Paul; why some police officers burn out; spirituality and police work; carrying a gun; Mercado's Marauders tactical unit; developing police intuition; University of Minnesota riots, 1972; miscellaneous stories and experiences from being a cop; being commander of the Southwest District; researching how other cities dealt with violent protestors; talking to college students during the Vietnam war; working in the Sex-Homicide Department; the Miranda Warning; the importance of listening.

Dates

  • 12/14/2005 - 01/05/2006 (Interviews conducted 12/14/2005,12/28/2005 and 1/5/2006.) (Creation)

Creation

Identifiers

  • Library Call Number: OH 132.8
  • Accession Number: AV2011.28.8

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

Quantity: 166 pages transcript

Format

  • Content Category: text

Subjects

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St. Paul Police Oral History Project: Interview with Laurence Francis McDonald

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