Thomas Lafayette Houchins Jr. (November 2, 1923 in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

– February 13, 2005 in

Castro Valley, California Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, it was the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California and the twenty-third most populous in the United States. The popula ...

) was sheriff for the

Alameda County Sheriff's Office The Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is a law enforcement agency serving Alameda County, California. ACSO is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the American Correctional Association (ACA ...

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Al ...

from 1975 to 1979. He gained some notoriety as a tough sheriff in his dealings with

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

protestors in the 1960s. His policing style then, while serving under then-sheriff

Frank Madigan Frank Madigan (1908–1979) was sheriff the Alameda County Sheriff's Office in Alameda County, California from 1963 to 1975. Thomas Lafayette Houchins Jr. served under him during the Berkeley, CA protests. Sheriff Madigan had the Alameda County S ...

, was described as "kick ass and take names" by Sheriff Charles Plummer (who was a field commander for the Berkeley Police Department when riots erupted in People's Park in 1969).

External links

'Tough' veteran county sheriff dies at age 81
by Matt O'Brien, Oakland Tribune, February 16, 2005 American police chiefs 1923 births 2005 deaths Alameda County, California sheriffs 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Oakland, California {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub