William P. Lawson

William P. Lawson (1879 or 1880 – July 2, 1946) was an American investment banker and politician who served as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department from 1937 to 1938. Prior to serving as commissioner, Lawson was the chairman of the Central Committee of the Maryland Republican Party.

Early life and career
Lawson was born in 1879 or 1880. He worked as an investment banker, going on to serve as chairman of the Central Committee of the Maryland Republican Party.

Career as commissioner
Lawson was appointed by Governor of Maryland Harry Nice as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department on May 17, 1937, replacing outgoing commissioner Charles D. Gaither.

While commissioner, Lawson was credited with appointing the first African-American person, Violet Hill Whyte, to the department. Seven months later, he had appointed 4 other African-American officers, however, he did not appoint any more while in office.

Liquor and fraud investigations
In June 1938, a credit report revealed that Lawson had been involved with the Consolidated Distillers Corporation, a business dealing in whisky, where he served as its spokesman, owning at least 1,000 shares in the company. When asked for comment, Lawson and Nice refused, however, the corporation claimed that Lawson no longer had stock or connections to the company. In a later statement, Lawson explained that he had served as a stockbroker for the company, not making any more profit than his commissions. He further claimed that he had never been involved in liquor and did not plan to be, an explanation that Nice found sufficient. Inconsistencies were pointed out, including that the credit report claimed that Lawson was interested in the company's affairs, acting as a supervisor. The company also stated that Lawson had worked there, before he "just left". Calls rose for Nice to ask that Lawson resign due to his dealings in the liquor industry and increasing crime rates.

On July 30, 1938, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a petition against Lawson, accusing his brokerage firm, William P. Lawson and Co., of at least six illegal practices, relating to selling securities of its customers without their consent as collateral for personal loans, while continuing to pay dividends to obscure that they had been sold, as well as having over 2,000% of its net capital in debt. SEC investigator Augustus A. Eggolt estimated that the firm had US$162,912.89 ($ in ) in debt to its customers, however, it only had roughly US$1,733 ($ in ) in its bank account. A "show-cause" order, signed by judge William Calvin Chesnut, required Lawson to formally respond to the petition in front of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland by August 15.

After the order, Lawson announced his temporary resignation as commissioner to Nice on July 31, 1938, which he immediately accepted, appointing chief inspector Stephen G. Nelson as acting commissioner. Although he described Lawson's resignation as wise, when asked for further comment on the case, Nice declined, saying that he would not comment on an ongoing legal process and that he knows little about the case.

Lawson hired the law firm Weinburg, Sweeten, and Green, to defend him, while he asserted that he was confident he could fight off the claims, which he described as "a vicious attempt to attack me". His attorney was J. Purdon Wright, who was also a Republican leader. State's Attorney for Baltimore J. Bernard Wells assigned deputy William H. Maynard to Lawson's case. He was found guilty, being sentenced to three years in prison, however, he was granted a partial pardon by Governor of Maryland Herbert O'Conor.

Personal life and death
Lawson was married to a former Republican National Committeewoman from Maryland. He died of a heart attack in Baltimore on July 2, 1946, at the age of 66.