HISTORY OF W.H.P.D.

Constables were the only source of police protection in West Hartford from the inception of the Town in 1854 to 1920, when the first full time policeman was appointed, the constables being remunerated on a fee basis, with a small allowance being made for minor expenses. The Board of Selectmen was empowered to be Police Commissioners also; on special occasions such as fairs, parades, etc. they appointed Special Policemen as needed.

On July 1, 1919 Benjamin Miller was appointed Town Manager and was assigned the duties and powers of Chief by the Board of Selectmen. This situation also made him the first Chief of Police in West Hartford. The Town was then experiencing the start of a rapid growth in its population.

Constable Daniel W. Bushey was the first regular policeman, appointed by the new Chief on October 1, 1920. Frank Dellert, who had been serving as a special officer, was made a Sergeant. Their means of transportation was bicycles, then horse and buggy. Motorcycles soon became the more efficient and cost effective mode of travel.

The Police Board was commissioned on May 9, 1921. They anticipated more growth in the Town and appointed a Chief, one Captain, three Sergeants and no more than twenty regular and twenty supernumerary policemen.

On June 21, 1923 Manager Miller resigned as Police Chief and Joseph F. Grogan, a member of the Hartford Police Department, was appointed as the new Chief. At that time there were eight regular and ten supernumerary men.

In February of 1929, Police Headquarters was transferred from the basement of Town Hall to 12 South Main Street. The spacious HQ consisted of three floors. The first floor contained a main office and desk, private room for the Sergeants, a rest room and a cell block. The second floor was the Chief's private office, meeting room for the Police Commission, a locker room and a room for the official Department photographer. The basement housed the motorcycles and the patrol vehicles and ambulance.

In September 1938, the West Hartford Police Department was issued a radio license by the F.C.C. By January of 1940 the police cars were equipped with two-way and inter-car radios. A feature which, at that time, made West Hartford Police one of the most modern equipped agencies in the State.

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