Walter E. Headley
Walter E. Headley | |
|---|---|
| Chief of Police of Miami, Florida | |
| In office August 1948 – November 16, 1968 | |
| Succeeded by | Bernard L. Garmire |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walter E. Headley May 11, 1905 |
| Died | November 16, 1968 (aged 63) |
| Children | 3 |
| Known for | "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" |
| Police career | |
| Country | United States |
| Department | Miami Police Department |
| Service years | 1937–1968 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Service years | 1920–1928 |
Walter E. Headley (May 11, 1905 – November 16, 1968) was the Chief of Police of Miami, Florida in the 1960s. Headley became famous for his use of the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts". During his tenure as police chief, he was regarded as a popular public figure by many, in spite of his heavy-handed policies.
Headley was characterized in the 1969 Miami Report about the 1968 Miami riot for the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence as a "strong-minded, hardworking police chief" who "carried virtually unchanged into the late 1960s policies of dealing with minority groups which had been applied in Miami in the 1930s and even earlier". This was an apparent reference to policies promulgated by Headley's predecessor, Chief H. Leslie Quigg.