March 26, 1997, San Francisco Chronicle, Obit, Lawrence G. Lawler, 56,

March 26, 1997, San Francisco Chronicle, Obit, Lawrence G. Lawler, 56,

Lawrence G. Lawler, former assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's San Francisco office and a former Oakland police officer, died Monday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. He was 56.

An Oakland native, Mr. Lawler graduated from San Francisco State University before joining the FBI in November 1965.

He worked in El Paso, Texas; Seattle and Olympia, Wash., before working at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., as director of development for the National Crime Information Center.

Mr. Lawler served as assistant special agent in charge of the San Francisco field office from August 1975 to March 1979. Later, he was special agent in charge of the FBI offices in Jacksonville, Fla., Minneapolis, Minn., and Los Angeles.

Throughout his career, Mr. Lawler was responsible for the investigation of many high-profile cases, including the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, the Jonestown massacre in Guyana and the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford.

His proudest accomplishment, however, was the creation of the National Crime Information Center, the computer system that links all law enforcement agencies in the country.

In 1990, Mr. Lawler was awarded the President's Award for Outstanding Service to the United States.

He had been the owner of the management and investigative consulting corporation, Lawrence G. Lawler and Associates, a firm he founded.

Mr. Lawler is survived by his wife of 37 years, JoAnne; sons, Edward and David, and daughter, Karen.

A Mass will be held at St. Philip's Parish, 725 Diamond St., San Francisco at 11 a.m. Monday.