His first surprise came when he found the force, still colloquially known as “Yard Cops,” carried a motley assortment of mostly useless side-arms, and that none of them had ever fired their weapon.

Thus, one of his first acts was to issue new six-shot .38-caliber revolvers and to train the force how to use the new weapons.

A New Era

Tonis took over the department as campus policing was undergoing its biggest revolution since its inception in the 1890s.

The department, long a retirement job for former groundskeepers, only nominally served policing functions—the officers’ responsibilities were part paramedic, part maintenance worker and only a small part police officer. Many had never received any formal training in police work, and much of their daily responsibilities involved raising and lowering flags around campus.

However, as the tumultuous 1960s evolved and campus riots swept the nation, it became increasingly clear that the University would need a more professional police force.

The coming years saw massive changes and an overhaul of the University police under the former FBI agent.

Tonis eliminated the department’s local specialization, creating a regular rotation of assignments that ensured that each officer became familiar with each of the five patrol areas.

“Some of the men had been standing in the same spot for 15 years,” Tonis remarked at the time.

He started keeping the department headquarters, then located in the basement of Grays Hall, open round-the-clock and equipped the officers with one-way pocket radios that allowed them to be in constant contact with headquarters.

Tonis placed a high emphasis on projecting a professional image to the campus community.

HUPD Officer James P. Sullivan recalls when Tonis switched the department’s uniforms from gray shirts to white shirts. When asked why, Tonis explained that his son had commented that the gray shirts made the officers look like truck drivers—and Tonis wanted to project the aura of authority.

“Chief Tonis was the ultimate professional,” says Sullivan, whom Tonis hired in 1966. “You always had to be direct and honest with him. He commanded that type of respect.”

As part of Tonis’ tightening of training, twenty-seven officers voluntarily enrolled in a Northeastern course in Criminal Law and Investigation—the first formal instruction many had ever had.

To meet the increased demands for the growing department, Tonis opened the department’s first substations, one at Radcliffe and one at Longwood as he expanded the police force from thirty-nine to sixty officers.