'To
Protect and Serve With Honor'
Ordinance No. Sixty Two, passed by the
City Council of Topeka on February 11,
1858, under Mayor Orrin T. Welch, provided
for the first police force in Topeka.
"Colonel" W.L. Gordon was appointed
the City Marshall and his first duty was
to grade Kansas Avenue from the river
to First Avenue.
In an 1887 publication we find this note
of civic pride: "Topeka's police
force stands second to none in Kansas.
It numbers 24 men, comprising of the chief,
two deputies and 21 men, with one patrol
wagon and two horses. Having a large and
growing city to protect and this with
a comparatively small body of men, it
requires that each and every member of
the force should be a first class and
thoroughly efficient officer, and of such
the police organization of Topeka is composed.
So notably efficient have been the chief
and members of the police department that
disreputable classes find this community
a very uncomfortable one for members of
their profession. It is a fact worthy
of note that some of the speediest and
finest detective work has been performed
by the detectives and members of Topeka's
Police department. A well-built and centrally
located building has been erected by the
city for the use of this department as
their headquarters, the cost of which
was $8,000.00.
Today the Topeka Police Department is
comprised of 296 sworn officers. In December,
1995 the department moved into a new police
facility, from a police station built
in 1937. The new Law Enforcement Center
houses the Topeka Police Department, the
Shawnee County Sheriff and the Shawnee
County Coroner's offices. The facility
is state-of-the-art which will see the
department well into this century.
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