Schaumburg's second police chief won department recognition

Schaumburg's second police chief, Robert M. Hammond Jr., who made the village police department the first accredited one in Illinois, died Monday in South Carolina at 73.

Hammond was a Chicago native who became only the third police officer hired by the then 2-year-old department in 1962.

He rose through the ranks of the expanding department during the '60s and '70s to eventually succeed original Chief Martin J. Conroy on June 27, 1981.

Current Police Chief Brian Howerton joined the department as a patrol officer only two weeks later and was sworn in by Hammond.

Hammond retired from the force in 1987, having served the department for 25 years - the last six as chief.

"We became the first accredited police department in Illinois in 1986, during his regime," Howerton said of Hammond. "That was probably his biggest contribution."

It's a legacy all of Hammond's successors have worked hard to maintain, with the latest renewal of the department's accreditation currently in progress, Howerton said.

Hammond's next biggest contribution was introducing motorcycle patrol officers to the department, Howerton said.

Hammond lived in Harvard during the time he worked for Schaumburg, but moved to South Carolina at some point after his retirement.

Although Howerton and Hammond never worked closely together - separated by the entire hierarchy of the department - Howerton did reach out to his predecessor on the eve of the department's 50th anniversary celebration this March.

Howerton said Hammond has been living with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, for about the last 10 years. Hammond's funeral will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, June 25, at Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home in Aiken, S.C.