This article is about the municipal police in Wyoming, Michigan. For the state police of the state of Wyoming, see Wyoming Highway Patrol.

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

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] ($17,063 in 2023).

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]

References

  1. ^ a b Vaughn, Charles; Simon, Dorothy (1984). The City of Wyoming: A History. Franklin, Michigan: Four Corners Press. pp. 2–4.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "City of Wyoming > About Wyoming > City Departments > Public Safety - Police". www.wyomingmi.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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.