The Early Years

The Waco Police Department began with the election of a Town Marshall, as provided by the first city charter, in 1871. The city charter called for annual elections and gave the Mayor the power to appoint four officers that year. Every year, after the election, special committees made recommendations to the Mayor on who should be hired as city employees. Sometimes the police department would have a whole new staff every year. Some form of this system of hiring and firing was used all the way up to the 1930s.

In 1879:

Six-Shooter Junction and the Red Light District

By the 1890's, Waco had come to be known as "Six-Shooter Junction" because of the number of famous gunfights that took place in the downtown area. It was also in 1890 that the City of Waco passed laws creating the first legal, licensed "red light district" in the State of Texas.

In fact there are several accounts, still available in microfilm copies of Waco Newspapers, of the Waco Police apprehending and arresting the perpetrators of gun fights. One outstanding example can be found in both the Waco Weekly Tribune and in the Waco Daily Times Herald on the date of April 2, 1898 (these papers eventually merged to become our current Waco Tribune Herald).

During the famous April 1, 1898 gunfight between William Cowper Brann and Tom E. Davis, Officer Sam S. Hall, bravely worked his way toward the fight, directly in Brann's line of fire. He hugged walls and used doors to dodge bullets, and when Davis fell, he risked his life to rush Brann and grab his pistol. The arrest of both Brann (who was mortally wounded) his companion William H. Ward followed. In both news stories, Officer's Hall account of his actions is corroborated by other witnesses.

The November 19, 1897 edition of the Waco Daily Telephone (a paper eventually absorbed by the Times-Herald) records another famous gunfight between Judge G.B. Gerald, and the Harris brothers, J.W. and W.A. The story records that "Policeman Ballenfaut had seized W.A. Harris after he shot at Judge Gerald and he was in custody when shot by the latter, who exclaimed as he fired the shots, 'You – – – – you shot me in the back.'" The article also mentions that another "policman seized Gerald and in the struggle both fell into the gutter."

These two gunfights are among the most famous occurring in Waco during the 1890's, and in both cases, our Waco police force performed their duty admirably.

A red light district provided that all immoral activities would be restricted to one area of town so that the rest of the city could remain "sinless." It was called the "Reservation" and was located between Washington and Jefferson Avenue from Third Street to right across the river. The expensive prostitutes worked and lived in houses on or close to Third Street, and the less expensive prostitutes were closer to the river. Waco was one of the first two cities in the United States to have legalized prostitution. The Reservation operated for 27 years, until 1917, when the U.S. Army closed it down.

The Depression Era

During the Great Depression, crime rose dramatically from the work of a small group of known career criminals to a mass problem. At times, commercial robberies averaged between eight and ten a day in the City of Waco. The Chief of Police requested from the Mayor an emergency hiring of officers that resulted in 25 to 30 extra men on the streets, the largest number that had ever been hired by the department at one time.

The new officers used their own cars while the city supplied the gas. Much of the crime problem was related to an overwhelming need for food, clothing, and money. To address the problem at its root, a police matron and an ex-Chief of Police started a soup line in the early 1930s that sometimes extended four or five blocks. Hot stew, made from vegetables and meat donated by local stores, was served every day with day-old bread from the bakeries. The food was gathered by the police matron and carried in the police paddy wagon and the city ambulance. Many Wacoans are believed to have survived the Great Depression because of this police-initiated soup line.

In 1934, the city government temporarily changed from the City Manager - Councilman form of government to the Strong Mayor - Alderman form of government. The spoil system began, and the new government tried to fire all the employees who had worked under and supported the City Manager - Councilman system. The Chief of Police was forced to resign, and the new chief was ordered to fire all the veteran officers. Pink slips were attached to the officers' paychecks. Many of the officers resigned, but there were some who simply ignored the pink slips and kept their jobs. With the establishment of the Civil Service Exam as a minimum requirement for recruitment in 1936, the hiring of officers became professionalized and the spoil system ended.

In 1936:

During World War II:

The Modern Era

By the 1950s, the department had grown to over 100 officers. A 1956 survey by the Public Administration Service resulted in several changes that made the department a lot like it is today. Before the survey, motorcycle units were assigned to traffic duties while two-man patrol units in cars took calls.

Patrol was the only division, detectives were responsible for answering major calls, and there were no defined beats or field supervisors. According to survey recommendations, the department was divided into divisions. The patrolmen began to make all initial investigations with the Criminal Investigations Division handling follow-ups. The city was divided into beats, two-man patrols became one-man patrols, and each officer was responsible for his beat.

The position of patrol sergeant was added for the supervision of the officers in the field, and a Record and Identification Unit was established. A formal recruit training program was also established for the first time. Before this, officers were hired and put on the streets with no training at all. The largest definitive turning point in the history of the Waco Police Department, the Public Administration Survey of 1956 marks the department's transition into a modern police department.