The City of Traverse City was incorporated as a Village in 1891 and received its City Charter in 1895.
On October 01, 1895, the Mayor appointed John Rennie, City Marshall. He had previously been the Village Marshall prior to this October 01, 1895, appointment. During that time, a Police Committee formed, and four additional men were appointed as night Policemen. The first four Policemen were: Allen Grayson, W.B. Sherman, James Garland, and Hiram M. Kinney.
In 1896, the monthly salaries of Marshall Rennie was $75 per month; Allan Grayson received $50 per month, and the remaining three officers received $40 per month.
In 1898, John Rennie served as both Village Marshall and Fire Chief – a dual position he held for several years. At some point during this time, the title was recognized as Chief rather than Marshall.
In 1911, Chief Charles Johnson recommended to the City Commission they consider adoption of 10 mph speed limits on various streets within the city. Chief Johnson further suggested signs be constructed of tin or iron be attached to posts, in plain view, so people would have an open view of the posted 10 mph speed limit on those specific streets. The City Commission unanimously passed the proposal.
In 1912, the city hired a Special Police Officer for enforcing the newly adopted 10 mph speed limit on the identified streets. The Special Officer wore plain clothes, rode a motorcycle, and immediately started issuing speeding tickets to speeding cars on those identified and posted streets.
In 1913, Pearl S. Watters was hired to serve in the capacity of Police Matron for the department. Officer Watters was the first female Police Officer the Traverse City Police Department employed.
In 1916, the Department secured its first Chevrolet automobile. The car came with free of charge storage at the Whiting Garage. Prior to the introduction of an automobile the police force were either on foot, horseback, or traveled by taxi to their calls for service destinations. During this time, the early drivers in Traverse City suffered from poor driving skills resulting in poor driving records. As a result, the City’s first fatal car accident occurred on October 27, 1910, at Fifth and Wadsworth Streets. The involved automobile went over the side of the riverbank and killed a female passenger.
Pictured above is a 1917 Chevrolet Traverse City Police Car, found listed on inventory sheets dated 1918, valued at $388.
By the 1920’s, the department’s handwritten logbooks reported many serious accidents and drunk driving arrests.
On May 26, 1926, the city installed its first traffic lights along Front Street intersecting Park, Cass, and Union Streets.
On November 11, 1938, the department installed its first two-way radio in a police car.
The 1940’s brought changes not only to the department, but to the world as a whole when the United States entered World War II, a result of the bombing on Pearl Harbor. At the end of 1941, President Roosevelt joined the Allies in Europe. During this time, the department emerged as new and different. In 1942, the department hired several additional Police Officers and additionally added twenty-one (21) Special Police Officers who served as an auxiliary force. This change was most likely due to World War II and the need for extra personnel to help with air-raid drills and blackouts.
Pictured above is a newspaper snippet listing officers around 1947.
Pictured above is a photo from firearms training in the 1950's.
Pictured above is Chief Howard Ritter who served as the Police Chief from November 1966- October 1967.
Pictured above is Chief John McCloskey who was appointed to Police Chief in November of 1967.
In 1969, the Department launched a communitywide design contest for the development of our Department Patch. The contestant who won the design contest was an eighthgrade female student at Traverse City Junior High School. For her effort, she received a $50 savings bond and communitywide recognition for her winning design of the Department’s Patch. This same patch is worn on our police uniforms to this day.