A POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS – If the Walls Could Talk – Episode 4

Chief L.D. Morrison, Sr.
(1954) The Feds were in Houston investigating local police for selling heroin to dope dealers. Detective M.A. Billnitzer, shot twice in the heart at the police station, was dead. The Police Chief, L.D. Morrison, Sr., by his own admission in testimony, didn’t hear of the seizure of a large amount of heroin that occurred in August of 1953 until June of 1954, although he ordinarily was told of any narcotics seizure. The police department was much smaller in 1953 and illegal narcotics trade was becoming a major police problem. But Morrison apparently didn’t learn of the dope deal until the Federal investigation was about to become public. Martin Billnitzer
After the death of Detective Billnitzer, Morrison relieved Captain Melton of duty and fired Detective Sidney Smith. He seems to have discounted any scandal beyond the actions of Smith. He later testified on behalf of Melton who was tried twice but not convicted. I’ll have more on Melton in later episodes.
In addition to the corruption that was taking place in his police department, Chief Morrison must have been uneasy when the Feds started snooping around for another reason. He had back problems and had found a doctor, Julius McBride, who supplied him with codeine which the doctor recorded as going to a patient who had cancer. When McBride was indicted, the charge said that he supplied the dope to the Chief for “non-medicinal” purposes. Medical experts from Baylor University testified in McBride’s trial that Morrison was caught up in the grip of the drug habit and well on his way to becoming an “addict” from frequent administration of codeine.
61 ReisnerChief Morrison resigned as Chief when the narcotics scandal became public. His reputation within the police department seems to have survived the scandal, including his improper use of codeine. The current Houston Police Academy building is named in his honor. In the book, HOUSTON BLUE, authors Tom Kennedy and Michael P. Roth write that “Morrison is known as the father of HPD academic training...” That honor was accrued prior to his being appointed police chief and when he initiated the first academy class. His son, L.D. Morrison, Jr., later became a Houston officer and retired as a Captain in the Homicide Division.

Next week’s episode will tell more about Officer W.C. Pool, Federal Agent George White, and an interesting note about another officer who testified before the federal grand jury, J.O. Brannon. Stay tuned and check out my novels in paperback or as Kindle e-books.