Arlington County Police Department

The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing 207,627 people within 26 square miles (67 km2) of jurisdiction within Arlington County, Virginia.

Arlington County Police Department
Badge of an Arlington County Police Department officer
Seal of the Arlington County Police Department
Flag of Arlington County, Virginia
Common nameArlington County P.D.
AbbreviationACPD
Agency overview
FormedOctober 1, 1963[1]
Preceding agency
  • Arlington County Division of Police (February 1940 – October 1963)[1]
Employees465
Annual budget$58 million
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionArlington, Virginia, USA
Map of Arlington County Police Department's jurisdiction.
Size26 square miles (67 km2)
Population207,627
Legal jurisdictionArlington County
Governing bodyCounty of Arlington
Constituting instrument
  • Yes
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersArlington County, Virginia
Police officers361
Civilians104
Agency executive
  • M. Jay Farr, Chief of Police
Website
Official Website

Etymology

The ACPD was created on February 1, 1940 as the Arlington County Division of Police with Harry Woodyard as the first Chief of Police.[2] It assumed its current name on October 1, 1963 after a departmental reorganization.[1]

History
The very first officers of the Arlington County Police Division in the 1940s.[1]
ACPD motorcycles during the department's early years.
ACPD policemen practicing marksmanship skills in 1968.
Former patch of the ACPD, used from the 1960s to the 1990s.
An ACPD cruiser in the 1960s.
ACPD cruisers in the 1970s.
An ACPD cruiser in the 1980s.
An ACPD cruiser at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

1940s

On February 1, 1940, the first Arlington County policing department was formed, under the name of the "Arlington County Division of Police".[1] A few years later, the first ACPD auxiliary force was created.[1]

1960s

In 1960, Arlington County Police arrested people for violating Virginia's segregation laws.[3]

In 1963, the agency assumed its present name.[1]

2000s

In September 2001, the Arlington County P.D. responded to the Pentagon after terrorists attacked it during the September 11 attacks, as the building is located in the county.[4]

2010s

Since the establishment of the Arlington County Police Department, 7 officers have died in the line of duty,[5] the most recent in 2016 as a result of an illness caused by the September 11 attacks of 2001.[6]

2020s

On June 1, 2020, Arlington County Police reportedly "played a supporting role in clearing protesters from a park outside the White House so the president could walk to a church for a photo opportunity." According to an Associated Press story that was syndicated across the United States, "Arlington officers joined a team of federal law enforcers using chemical agents and flash bangs to forcibly remove a large group of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park." Elected officials from Virginia serving on the Arlington County Board, and in the U.S. Congress, were critical of the tactics employed against protestors.[7]

Organization
ACPD policemen apprehending a bank robber in 2006.
ACPD SWAT officers in 2007.
ACPD SWAT officers in 2008.
ACPD SWAT officers in 2012.
An ACPD policeman watching over schoolchildren in 2012.

Chief of Police

The Chief of Police as of August 2017 is M. Jay Farr. He was appointed by the County Manager in 2015.[8]

Services provided

The ACPD offers the following services:

  • Residential Premises Security Survey
  • Commercial Premises Security Survey
  • Operation Identification Information
  • Neighborhood Watch Information
  • Crime Prevention Literature
  • Program Presentation to a Group[9]

Special operations section
  • Auxiliary Officer Unit
  • Crisis Negotiation Unit
  • Crossing Guard Unit
  • Parking Enforcing Unit
  • Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit
  • Traffic Unit
  • Internal Affairs[10]

Fleet and equipment
Vehicle Country of origin Type Notes Picture(s)
Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor  United States (origin)
 Canada (manufacture)		 Cruiser Second generation model.
Ford Police Interceptor  United States Cruiser Sixth generation model.
Mobile command center RV/bus
Motorcycle Motorcycle
Bicycle Human-powered transportation

ACPD equips their officers with Smith & Wesson M&P15 semiautomatic rifles chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. These rifles are often equipped with red dot sights, weapon mounted lights, 30 round magazines, and slings. The department issued sidearm is a Glock22 or the smaller Glock 23 depending on the hand size and personal preference of the officer. These guns are loaded with .40 S&W Hollow-point bullet. However, as the FBI switches to the 9×19mm Parabellum, ACPD is planning to do the same and may soon begin equipping its officers with the Glock 17 or Glock 19, both chambered in 9mm. Previously, officers had the option of carrying 12 gauge Remington Model 870 shotguns, but these are being phased out by the AR-15 rifles. Officers can also carry backup weapons in addition to their issued sidearm, provided that their backup weapon is chambered for .380 ACP or greater. For less than lethal options, officers are equipped with Baton (law enforcement) and TASER X2 Defender tasers.

See also

References
  1. Arlington County Police Department (1998). "Arlington's Police Department: The History". Arlington County Police Department. Virginia: Arlington County. Archived from the original on December 9, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  2. "Arlington County Police Department". Police.
  3. "Arrested for Arlington Sit-In: 1960".
  4. AFIP, U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Louis Briscese, Forensic Photography, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner (11 September 2001). "English: An Arlington County Police car, along with EMS equipment in the foreground at the Pentagon in September 2001" – via Wikimedia Commons.
  5. "Arlington County Police Department, VA". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  6. "Corporal Harvey Snook, III". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). 2016.
  7. Barakat, Matthew (June 2, 2020). "Virginia county pulls officers from Washington, D.C., after Trump photo-op at St. John's Church". Associated Press. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  8. "Donnellan Names Jay Farr Chief of Police – Newsroom".
  9. "About – Police, Arlington, Virginia".
  10. Smith, Leef (18 April 1997). "Arlington Officer Under Investigation". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
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