Marion Police Chief Retires After 21 Years on Force
“Twenty one years of other people’s troubles” is how the retiring Marion Police Chief describes his career on the force.
“I’m gonna start on my own life now, but I’m gonna try to keep it straight,” John F. Kelley added with a laugh.
Today was his final day as a policeman. He became Chief in May, 1967. He has been night chief since 1955.
Kelley started on the force in January, 1948, for a one week trial period. He stayed because it was “not as bad as I thought it was.”
When the police commissioner asked Kelley to join the force, Kelley told him, “I’m not interested.
He went to work that night driving a coal and grain truck north. When Kelley returned his boss said he might be laid off because of slow business.
“I still believe they went to him and got him to lay me off to get me,” Kelley said.
That night the radio operator stopped to get Kelley on his way to the police station, Kelley went along and finally agreed to work a week to see “how we liked each other.”
“After the week was up, I just stayed. I stayed 21 years and I feel it’s time to get out of it now. Twenty one years is a long time.” Kelley said.
Most of Kelley’s time on the force was spent on night duty, which he preferred. He worked about 10 of his 19 years of 12 hour night shifts, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. shifts, much of it he worked alone.
Kelley said he liked night work better because it is “more police work,” break-ins, prowlers and fights. Day work means mostly family arguments, arguments which “I don’t like to get into,” he added.
Kelley said he used to cover automobile accidents as far away as Carterville, Johnston City and Pulley’s Mill. There were only two state policemen in the area the, he explained.
He recalled a night he and another policeman, Herman May, put 28 men in jail for fighting. They were from Chicago’s skid row, he said, and were working on train crews. The fighting started by the old Marion Ice Plant and spread all over town. Kelley called it the “aggravatin’ist” night he had.
Three women fighting in the street over a man provided a humorous time for Kelley. “There was nothing I could do but put them all in jail,” he said shaking his head.
The worst time Kelley can recall occurred shortly after he joined the force. He had picked up the day man, Tom Lewis, and was ready to go home. Then a call came over the radio about a car-train wreck. They arrived at the scene and found Kelley’s cousin and the cousin’s wife and her brother and sister were all victims.
With all the current talk of police brutality, Kelley noted with price that he had never used his gun.
“I’ve thought a time or two I was going to have to,” he said. “I always give the other fellow the benefit of the doubt, if I wasn’t sure.”
“I always treated people like I like to be treated. I never mistreated anyone unless I was.”
(Southern Illinoisan article by Suzi Hagen, published on December 31, 1968)