Wyoming Police Department

The Wyoming Police Department is a municipal police department of the city of Wyoming, Michigan.

This article is about the municipal police in Wyoming, Michigan. For the state police of the state of Wyoming, see Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Wyoming Police Department
Seal
Agency overview
FormedApril 3, 1848
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionWyoming, Michigan, United States
Map of the Wyoming Police Department's jurisdiction
Operational structure
Headquarters2300 DeHoop Ave SW
Wyoming, MI
Sworn members83 (2013)
Agency executive
  • Kimberly Koster, Public Safety Chief
Website
Police department website

History

Wyoming Township

The Wyoming Police Department was originally established as a constabulary on April 3, 1848.[1][2] The first force included four constables; William Richardson, Charles J. Rogers, James A. Britton, Henry N. Roberts.[1] During the times of prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933, constables policed Wyoming to prevent moonshine and alcohol production.[3] Moonshine was so prominent and sought for in Wyoming that it was occasionally used in payment transactions.[3] In one prominent event in July 1932, over 500 gallons of alcohol, six firearms and a list of customers that included notable local officials were seized from a home at 3900 Burlingame Avenue.[3]

The Wyoming Township Police Department was formed on December 12, 1941 and continued to use constables.[2] Wyoming Township employed three full-time constables known as the "Wyoming Cowboys" that were stationed at the temporary township hall on Burton and Godfrey.[2] The first police car was a Ford V8 that was purchased in January 1942 for $915.[3]

The constables were then temporarily located at 1263 Burton until the township purchased 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land in December 1947 on the northeast corner of 28th Street and DeHoop Avenue, constructing a town hall at the location in 1948 due to the increased development on 28th Street.[2][4][5]

In March 1949, the department arrested Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck who murdered Delphine Downing and her toddler Rainell during a lonely hearts crime.[3] Wyoming police discovered the bodies of Downing and her child in freshly-laid concrete in Downing's basement, with the brutality of the murders receiving nationwide coverage in the United States.[3] Fernandez and Beck were ultimately extradited to New York for previous crimes, were tried and executed by electric chair in March 1951.[6]

In 1952 Wyoming Township Police Department was moved one last time to the public works garage near the town hall.[2]

City of Wyoming
Wyoming Police Headquarters

The City of Wyoming was incorporated on January 1, 1959 with seventeen officers being sworn that year, growing to twenty-seven officers and nine vehicles by the next year.[2]

By 1976, there were seventy-six sworn officers and the police station was moved to the Police-Justice Building at 2650 DeHoop Avenue, with the police being located on the second floor.[2] The building was constructed at a cost of $1.2 million.[3]

In 1994, the department's pistol team won the Governor's Trophy after competing against seven-hundred other officers from other jurisdictions in Michigan.[2]

In the 2000s, Wyoming built a 54,000 square feet (5,000 m2), two-story headquarters at 2300 DeHoop Avenue on land that was originally donated by the Rogers Family.[2] As of 2013, the police department had eighty-three sworn officers serving the community.[2] The Wyoming Police Department and Wyoming Fire Department had their offices merge in 2014, becoming the Wyoming Department of Public Safety.[2]

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References
  1. Vaughn, Charles; Simon, Dorothy (1984). The City of Wyoming: A History. Franklin, Michigan: Four Corners Press. pp. 2–4.
  2. "City of Wyoming > About Wyoming > City Departments > Public Safety - Police". www.wyomingmi.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  3. Vaughn, Charles; Simon, Dorothy (1984). The City of Wyoming: A History. Franklin, Michigan: Four Corners Press. pp. 211–217.
  4. Vaughn, Charles; Simon, Dorothy (1984). The City of Wyoming: A History. Franklin, Michigan: Four Corners Press. pp. 77–112.
  5. Vaughn, Charles; Simon, Dorothy (1984). The City of Wyoming: A History. Franklin, Michigan: Four Corners Press. pp. 22–33.
  6. Gado, Mark (2007). Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press. Praeger. p. 157. ISBN 978-0275993610.
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