William H. O'Brien

William Henry O'Brien (about 1883-1970) was a Billerica police officer from about 1915 who rose from patrolman to Deputy Chief in 1928 and served as Chief of Police from 1938 until his retirement on December 1, 1947. The ballot of 1913 gives his name as Wm. Henry O'Brien, and in 1926 the town report calls him "Police Officer and Constable of North Billerica."

His first town offices were outdoor work. He was elected Tree Warden in 1912 and re-elected in 1913, and the selectmen also made him the local Moth Superintendent; he was paid for his labor and for the hire of his horse. In his report for the year ending February 1913 he wrote that the trees in the North and the Centre had been cleared of dead wood, brush had been cut along the roads and four trees dangerous to passers-by removed. The browntail moths were decreasing, "but the Gypsies are as bad, if not worse, than a year ago," and he urged property owners to pay more attention to them. He held both posts until 1915.

In 1915 he became one of the town's two regular police officers with Henry D. Livingston, and the two signed that year's police report together. From 1915 until 1948 he was chosen a constable and field driver nearly every year. In 1926 the town was asked to pay $160 for the expenses of his automobile. In 1928 the selectmen, working with federal authorities, "succeeded in getting results which should have been accomplished by our police department." Citing a lack of discipline in the department, they promoted Officer O'Brien to Deputy Chief under Civil Service.

Livingston remained chief until his death in January 1938, and O'Brien then succeeded him. His report for 1938 listed three regular officers, Edward O'Connor, John F. Trainor and Albert S. McSweeney, and eighteen special officers, and it counted 134 arrests. In his report for 1939 he noted that when the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Lowell General Hospital called for volunteers to give blood transfusions to local residents, two of his officers were selected. When he retired at the end of 1947, the selectmen wrote that he had served "many years as a faithful and efficient Patrolman and Chief," and Trainor was chosen to succeed him. William Henry O'Brien died on September 19, 1970, at the age of 87, and the town report for that year printed his portrait in a chief's uniform in its In Memoriam.

References

1. Report of the Tree Warden and Moth Superintendent, 1913
2. 'Billerica' magazine, 1913 (annual town election, Tree Warden)
3. Police Report, 1915
4. Town Warrant, Article 16 (police officers automobile), Town Report 1926
5. Report of the Board of Selectmen, 1928 (promotion to Deputy Chief)
6. Police Department Report, 1938
7. Report of the Board of Selectmen, 1947 (retirement)
8. In Memoriam, 1970