Dale Dixon Crawford was the former sheriff of Tulsa County and a former leader of both the Ku Klux Klan and Cyclops.
Biography[]
Dale Dixon Crawford was the son of Dixon T. Crawford, a renowned marshal of Oklahoma’s pre-statehood years. Crawford decided to follow into father's footsteps and joined the Tulsa Police Department. During his career in law enforcement, he rose up the ranks and by 1955 he became the sheriff of Tulsa County and worked from within the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department office.[1]
At some point Crawford became a member of both the Ku Klux Klan and eventually Cyclops, a secret white supremacist organization dedicated to restoring "racial balance" in America. In 1955, Crawford hosted a white-tie fundraising event at his home in Tulsa in which his friend Joseph David Keene, a senator of Oklahoma, publicly rebuked Hooded Justice for refusing to reveal his identity to the House Un-American Activities Committee.[2]
On June 1, 1955, Crawford is given a leadership position in Cyclops, the mantle passing from Keene to him. The following day, Crawford received a George Caitlin replica painting called Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship from Keene. Keene explained to Crawford in a letter that the painting he received was meant to be a reminder for him to never betray his birthright, always remain hopeful even when misfortune arises, and to execute his duties as sheriff of Tulsa with the talents of their adversaries, and double down on them.[3]
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Dale Dixon Crawford's Klan robe discovered by Angela Abar hidden in Judd Crawford's secret compartment.
For 55 years until his death, Crawford would execute his duties as sheriff of the Tulsa while upholding his leadership role for the Order of the Cyclops in the efforts to maintain "racial balance" and to keep minorities in line. He even had a Klan robe which he used to give orders to members of the KKK to terrorize blacks in Tulsa and the surrounding areas.[1][4]
Crawford was married and had two twin sons, Matthew Wayne Crawford and Lionel Thomas Crawford. Both sons would also follow into their father's footsteps and became police officers. His grandson, Judd Crawford, would go on to become the chief of police of Tulsa P.D. as well as maintain a leadership role with the Cyclops[1]
Reference[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.hbo.com/content/dam/hbodata/series/watchmen/peteypedia/02/tulsa-police-chief-feared-slain-revised.pdf
- ↑ Oklahoma Senator Slams Hooded Justice For Defying HUAC
- ↑ https://www.hbo.com/content/dam/hbodata/series/watchmen/peteypedia/03/four-letters-evidence.pdf
- ↑ This Extraordinary Being