In 1978, Pawlowski enlisted in the state police and was assigned to Troop J in Embreeville, Pennsylvania.[3] Among other roles, he worked as a hostage negotiator, an investigator of the Camp Hill Prison riots, and a special counsel for state attorney general's probe into Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen. In 1999, he graduated from the FBI National Academy.[3] He became commander of Troop J in 2000 and was promoted to the rank of major in 2003.[3]
On August 9, 2008, after state police commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller stepped down from his position to take a role with the National Football League, Governor Ed Rendell named Pawlowski as acting commissioner of the state police.[2][4] Pawlowski was subsequently confirmed by the Pennsylvania State Senate on October 7, 2008.[5] He continued to serve as the head of the state police, commanding approximately 6,000 civilian and enlisted employees, until he retired on January 7, 2011.[6] He was succeeded by Frank Noonan, an appointee of newly elected governor Tom Corbett.[7]
Pawlowski's older son, Francis J. Pawlowski, joined the Pennsylvania State Police in 2011.[8]
