William Harvey Thompson

Who is William Harvey Thompson?

William Harvey Thompson was a prohibition enforcement agent in the Seattle, Washington, unit of the Prohibition Bureau. Widely known as Kinky, because of his tight curly hair, Thompson's career illustrated one of the problems - unprofessional enforcement - that led to increasing opposition to National Prohibition in the United States.

Thompson’s first mention in the press occurred after he shot a moonshine still-tender through the stomach during a raid.

Later Thompson reported that bootleggers attacked him late one night as he was driving on a deserted country road. He claimed that, while a car was overtaking him, he was shot in the arm. However, police investigators found substantial evidence that Thompson had fabricated the whole story.

Thompson used a blackjack on a man who had no reputation for violence. A jury hearing the resulting case denounced Thompson for his brutal beating of the defendant. The judge who presided at the trial later called Thompson’s supervisor into his chamber and warned him about Thompson’s behavior. Thompson later blackjacked a twelve-year-old boy, the boy’s mother, and his one-legged father. He subsequently pistol-whipped a manacled prisoner in full view of a crowd of onlookers who were outraged at his behavior.