Benes R. Lawrence, retired police officer and former Public Utility Commission manager, has died at 83

Benes R. Lawrence, 83, of Philadelphia, retired police officer, onetime regional manager for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, former substitute teacher and security officer for the School District of Philadelphia, veteran, pilot, and unofficial but enthusiastic city tour guide, died Friday, Sept. 29, of complications from leukemia at Jefferson Abington Hospital.

A lifelong Philadelphian, Officer Lawrence grew up in West Philadelphia and lived for five decades in West Mount Airy. He worked in the Philadelphia Police Department as a patrolman, foot traffic officer, civil affairs officer, and dignitary protection officer from 1965 until his retirement in 1990.

Officer Lawrence walked a beat in the Sixth District as a patrolman, wore out shoes regularly as a foot traffic officer, and observed sometime raucous protests and demonstrations during the tumultuous 1970s and ‘80s for the department’s Civil Affairs Unit. He answered phone calls in district headquarters on the night shift for a time, drew up daily assignments for other officers, and accompanied city officials and important visitors around town as part of the dignitary protection team.

He was present for memorable demonstrations at Girard College, the city’s Board of Education headquarters, and other sites, and assigned to the scene during the MOVE bombing in West Philadelphia in 1985. Although he rarely emphasized the dangers he may have encountered, Officer Lawrence did share with his family some of the more poignant experiences he had on the job.

One of those may have been his assignment on May 15, 1967. As recounted in The Inquirer the next day, Officer Lawrence was dispatched to monitor four women who were offering free coffee near City Hall courtesy of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.

The objective of the women, each of whom represented different ethnicities, was to show passersby that integration was good for Philadelphia. Officer Lawrence apparently agreed with that sentiment, as writer Alfred P. Klimcke reported: “Patrolman Benes Lawrence, assigned to stand by the coffee klatch, got right into the swing of things and started passing out coffee along with the ladies.”

Officer Lawrence’s wife of 57 years, Andrea, was not surprised by such a magnanimous expression. “He was an outgoing friendly person,” she said. “Folks got along with him, and many of them talked about how he influenced their lives. He changed attitudes.”

Eager to expand his skills and find new ways to help others, Officer Lawrence attended Cheyney State College, now Cheyney University, during the day when he worked night shifts and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1978. He took jobs as a substitute teacher and security officer at schools in Philadelphia in the 1990s, and earned the nickname RoboCop from students and others for his constant presence in the hallways.

Later, he became a motor carrier enforcement officer with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and rose to regional manager before his retirement in the mid-2000s. In 1998, Officer Lawrence created a PUC training program for Philadelphia cabdrivers to help them better serve their customers. “We like drivers to think of themselves as business professionals doing a job,” he told a class of 12 drivers, according to an article that appeared in The Inquirer in 1998.

His seminars stressed personal hygiene, a pleasant attitude, and knowledge of the city. By 2000, his sessions became official certification classes that included two multiple-choice exams.

Later, he enjoyed taking family and friends on his own extensive tours of the city, often sharing with them the knowledge he had acquired and passed on to his cab-driving students. “He loved the history of Philadelphia,” his wife said. “He knew things about places from Kensington to South Philadelphia to Center City.”

The youngest of six children, Benes Reginald Lawrence was born April 8, 1940. He attended West Philadelphia High School, joined the Air Force before graduation, and worked for a time on the service fire brigade in Anchorage, Alaska. He applied for jobs with both the Police Department and Fire Department in Philadelphia after his discharge, and the Police Department called him first.

He enrolled at Penn Center Academy to complete his high school education requirements and, attracted to aviation as a young man, qualified later for his pilot’s license. He made flights to the Jersey Shore and elsewhere, and became active with the Freemasons, Zeta Omicron Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Ye Olde Philadelphia Club.

He married Andrea Brown in 1966, and they had daughter Elaine. He cheered for the Eagles and rode his motorcycle often. He mentored family, friends, and students, and lifted his tenor voice for years with the choir at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas.

In an online tribute, friends called him a “kind and welcoming presence,” “gentleman with many skills,” and “a booming and classy presence.” His wife said: “He was a very caring person.”

In addition to his wife and daughter, Officer Lawrence is survived by two grandchildren, a sister, and other relatives. Three brothers and a sister died earlier.

Services were held Oct. 12.