8 Registered magnum Lakeland, Florida

[caura]

Police Shipped Smith & Wesson .357 Registered Magnum Revolver | Rock Island Auction

Please.Does any member of the forum know what happened to the remaining units of the shipment? Thank you very much from Spain

Por favor, *Algún miembro del foro sabe que pasó con las restantes unidades del envío?

 

[Retired W4]

Police Shipped Smith & Wesson .357 Registered Magnum Revolver | Rock Island Auction

Please.Does any member of the forum know what happened to the remaining units of the shipment? Thank you very much from Spain

Por favor, *Algún miembro del foro sabe que pasó con las restantes unidades del envío?

I don't have the answer but what a nice RM, with the relatively new magna stocks and humpback hammer.

I'm sure someone here knows where some of them ended up.

 

[mchom]

I don't know the answer either. I watched this auction and bid. But did not win. Interestingly it showed up for sale again within a month or two at a Cabelas for sale. Pretty close and maybe a bit over the hammer + fees from RIA. Still more than I could muster up. It lasted maybe a month and sold. I hope it's someone here on forum.

 

[lestert357]

Two others have surfaced and are listed in the SWCA database; REG 3235 & 3237, both 4" nickel with HBH, and both refinished.

 

[gunbarrel]

Having grown up in Lakeland and living here since 1969 (55 years), I found the topic of this post very intriguing.

In 1937, when Lakeland purchased these ***EIGHT*** .357 Registered Magnums for $35.45 each, the total of $283.60 was an exorbitant amount of money for a small Florida city of approximately 20,000 people when the US was still recovering from the Great Depression.

In addition, most police officers in smaller towns and rural areas, including the Polk County Sheriff deputies, had to purchase their own handguns out of pocket until the (late?) 1970's, when the County began buying them for their officers (Lakeland is the largest city in Polk County).

Mr. McIlwain was City Manager of Lakeland, where he lived for 15 years before moving to Southeast Florida. The 1940 shows him and his wife living in Lakeland and by that time he was City Manager of the City…Fort Pierce!?

 

[gunbarrel]

Roy Hutchingson was the second Chief of Police for the City of Lakeland. He was Chief from 1933 to 1951; therefore, his police officers had to be the recipients of these fancy revolvers in 1937. Five years earlier, on Easter Sunday in 1932, two LPD officers were killed by gunfire responding to a call. Patrolman William Barnett and Patrolman Thomas Nicholson were the first LPD officers killed on duty, and 40 years later, the people of Lakeland were still talking about that day (the third death of a Lakeland police officer killed by gunfire happened in 2011).

Patrolman William T. Barnett, Lakeland Police Department, Florida

Patrolman Thomas Alonzo Nicholson, Lakeland Police Department, Florida

Maybe the tragedy in 1932 influenced the decision to purchase the RM's, but what happened to them is anyone's guess. Perhaps, some Lakeland Police Officers got them when they retired as a gift, or at a reduced price.

Below are some pictures of Chief Hutchingson and some of his officers in the 30's and early 40's.

The first two pictures show Chief Hutchingson buying illegal Bolita tickets in Lakeland—followed by giving the guy a summons ))

 

[gunbarrel]

LPD Despatcher Sgt. Frank Rhodes (1938) obviously not wearing a RM

 

[gunbarrel]

LPD officer Grant Harden walking the beat around downtown in 1940. Is that a grip adaptor in his revolver?

 

[gunbarrel]

Motorcycle Patrolman Leo Brooker (ca. late 30's). He later became Chief of Police 1953 – 1973. He retired the year after I graduated from Lakeland High School

 

[gunbarrel]

Chief Hutchingson (arrow) with his Detective Squad in the mid 40's. He was a little guy, but I hear that he was tough as nails.