George W. Matsell

George Washington Matsell (1811-1877) was a 19th century American law enforcement officer and the first commissioner of the New York City Police Department.

Born the son of English immigrants from Norfolk in New York City, New York, Matsell worked as an apprentice in his father's bookstore during his childhood, eventually opening a bookstore of his own before becoming a police magistrate in 1840. Observing that the city had long since outgrown the outdated watch system, Matsell began organizing regular night patrols throughout the city, especially along the New York riverfront, where they made several arrests and were successful in preventing criminal activities. Matsell's efforts would soon influence police reforms which would not only be adopted in New York but, with the passage of the Municipal Police Act in 1844, throughout the United States as well.

Under the act, police departments were given a larger responsibility over the city and New York Mayor William F. Havemeyer would soon promote Matsell as police chief of the newly created NYPD. Among the new reforms under Matsell's administration, patrol methods were improved and a strict discipline instilled, the results of which would be seen during the Astor Place Riots of 1849 and common violence seen during between Nativist and Tammany supporters during New York's political elections. Matsell would also seek to establish a special police division to patrol the cities river and waterfront areas, with property values at an estimated $350 million, to protect against the numerous river pirates of the period.

In 1857, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed by the state legislature in favor of the previous Municipal Police Act over a decade earlier and allowed the establishment of a police commission to oversee the New York's law enforcement. In the ensuing battle for control of the NYPD however, Matsell was forced to resign his position as the commission assumed administrative control.

Upon the reelection of Havemeyer in 1871, Matsell was again nominated for a position as superintendent of police. He was soon appointed as a police commissioner, and officially elected president of the board of police commissioners in July 1873. His return would only be a brief one as, with the defeat of Havemayer the following year, Matsell left along with him returning to the law firm which had previously established.

References

*Phillips, Charles and Alan Axelrod. "Cops, Crooks, and Criminologists: An International Biographical Dictionary of Law Enforcement Updated Edition". New York: Checkmark Books, 2000. ISBN 0-8160-3016-2