“We are Ready, but We are not Equipped,” Pensacola Police get Tommy Guns

By Mike Simmons

Organized Crime gained prominence in larger cities in the United States beginning in the 1920s. The term usually – although incorrectly – included “The Mafia,” “La Cosa Nostra,” and “The Mob,” became more popular with the onset of Prohibition, bringing about terms such as “bootlegging,” “moonshining,” and “rum running.”

Organized Crime dominated much of the life of larger cities, namely New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, and New York City. Newspapers made names like Carlos Marcello, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, and Al Capone household words. They were heavily armed with machine guns, shotguns, and numerous pistols – with them and hidden in their cars. In order to sell more papers, these stone killers were cast as romantic heroes, and adoring children sought to be like them.

While some of the killers stayed in their cities, many roamed the country, committing armed robberies and murders, even in small towns. The town fathers, including those in Pensacola, wanted to be prepared in case they came to the City of Five Flags.

The idea first came up on Friday, May 4, 1934. Several city council members informally discussed the idea of upping the crime-fighting weapons of the Pensacola Police Department. Most of the members agreed that consideration for tear gas bombs, sawed-off shotguns, and sub-machine guns was in order.

The idea, or a variation of it, became an official request two months later when Pensacola Public Safety Director Eugene Forsythe announced that he was submitting his new budget. Included in it was the purchase of a sub-machine gun, several sawed-off shotguns, and tear gas bombs. He also included a target range to be erected at the police station, 407 S. Jefferson Street (sight of today’s Pensacola Museum of Art.)

In defending his desire to purchase, Forsythe said, “It is really a joke when an officer or officers attempt to cope with a really serious situation armed with a .32 and .38 calibre revolvers such as we are equipped with at the present time.”

In light of the Mafia and gangster situations in the United States at that time that grew from Prohibition, Forsythe said, “It is not that we expect any serious criminal activity in Pensacola, but that we want to be able to cope with it should it occur. As we are equipped now, three well-armed hoodlums could cause us no end of trouble.” He said, “We are ready, but we are not equipped.”

They were a while in coming, but they finally arrived. On December 30, 1935, Director Forsythe announced that a Thompson sub-machine gun had arrived, and two 12-gauge riot guns, resembling sawed-off shotguns, were on the way.

Another addition was a one-way police radio system. A wireless (antenna) was installed in the desk sergeant’s office in Police Headquarters, and units were also being installed in the police cars. When the installation was complete, the desk sergeant would be able to speak to the officers in the cars, but they had to go to the nearest telephone box to respond. So, the desk sergeant would call three times and hope the call was heard.

Forsythe added that instructions were given to all officers that, when a holdup man or a burglar were caught in the act of a crime, to shoot on sight.

In 1934, Thompson Sub-machine guns, often referred to as “Tommy Guns,” cost $200 each. In 2025, each one fetches over $100,000.

Interesting…