The charter form of government was ratified by the voters on September 10, 1910 and provided for the election of a mayor and four trustees. The trustees appointed all of the sub-officers including the chief of police.
In accordance with the provisions of the charter, the commissioners assembled July 1, 1911, and organized the commission. Lots were drawn for the two-year and the four-year term and for the different departments and Robert L. Dallas, who was the Undersheriff of Stanislaus County since 1909 under Sheriff A. S. Dingley, was appointed the first Chief of Police for the City of Modesto.
A few days later, July 11, Chief Dallas ‘put on the lid’ and notified all saloonkeepers and red-light inmates that the laws would be strictly enforced, and August 3 the commissioner of public works, George Perley, announced, "The old order of things is past, the new is on."
In March 1912, Modesto was moving into the automobile age and the City Council introduced new rules of the road. These included a speed limit of 15 MPH and the requirement of having a light on the front of every car. The newspapers frequently gave driving instructions such as that all vehicles should be driven on the right side of the road even if the other side of the road is shadier or had fewer mud holes; that a vehicle should stay in the street rather than crossing vacant lots, and that the passing of another vehicle should be done on the left side and not the right side.
One reported violation concerned a driver who ‘lost his head’ and kept yelling ‘whoa’ instead of using the vehicles brakes and resulted in an accident.
At the time of his appointment, Chief Dallas had two patrolmen under his command and they were paid an average of $100 per month. Modesto’s population had now grown to over 4,000 people, was an important rail shipping point for wheat, and was the Stanislaus County Seat.
The department operated out of a small one room office at 1112 H Street where it remained until 1914. The police department was then moved to other small offices located at 922 H Street, 1914-1915 and 1000 H Street, 1916-1918. Chief Dallas quickly expanded the department to four patrolmen and a motor officer.
Chief Dallas served so well that he was reappointed each year until 1918 when he became a candidate for Sheriff of Stanislaus County and defeated incumbent Sheriff George A. Davis. Chief Dallas took the oath as Sheriff Dallas on January 6, 1919.
Chief Dallas was born on his father’s ranch in Hickman, Stanislaus County September 12, 1872. He died June 6, 1938 in Stanislaus County and is at rest in Modesto Citizens Cemetery.
Chief Lee Smith was the second appointed Chief of Police. Born March 14, 1874 in Missouri, he was a patrolman with the department before being appointed. Under his command were three patrolmen and a captain. He still operated out of a small one room office for headquarters at 1002 H Street until a new police building was completed in 1921 at 614 10th Street. There were no transportation facilities other than a bicycle which the late Officer Tom McCarthy had nicknamed “Old Harry”.
Later, four patrolmen were added to the personnel and about the same time, an automobile was placed into service for answering calls and used in general as a patrol wagon and ambulance. In 1921, new quarters were built for the department at 614 10th Street. The city did not have a great deal of money to throw around and councilmen accepted the offer of their own mayor, George J. Ulrich, a contractor, to build it at cost which totaled $5,000.
Another automobile and one motorcycle was added to the equipment. One automobile was then used as a patrol car to patrol the entire city. The other car was kept at the office and used for emergency calls. The only way to contact the patrol car was to call the pump man at the City Water Department, whose office was at the rear of the police department, and have him flash the city street lights which, at that time, were controlled through the water department.
When the patrol car saw the street lights blink, they would immediately come to the office and chances were they would be sent back to a very short distance from the original location when the lights blinked. Of course, during winter months, they would often make needless trips to the office due to power interruptions.
One of the next improvements was the installation of a red light system located at several intersections in the business district, and these were controlled by a switch at the office. When the men on the street or in a patrol car would see the red lights flashing, they would respond to the office. This system proved very valuable and was expanded and remained in use into the 1940’s.
Shortly after this, five telephones with direct lines to the office were installed at convenient locations in the business district. These telephones were installed in a large wooden box with a bell or gong on top to attract attention of the officers. This system was used for a few months, but so many complaints of the bells annoying business offices nearby that they were abandoned. They were replaced with the Gammell System with the small iron box and police type telephone installed on an iron post with the police call box on one side and a fire alarm box on the other. The number was increased from five to nine boxes and enabled the patrolman on the street to keep in close contact with the office.
In 1929 a third automobile and another motorcycle were added to the equipment. This allowed two automobiles for patrol duty, one for answering emergencies calls from the office and two motorcycles for traffic duty. Prohibition was law, brought to Modesto two years earlier by prohibitionists and a very active women’s voting campaign. Newspapers carried headlines of stills, liquor raids, and a burgeoning traffic problem.
In May 1934, a two-way radio system was installed which was purchased from the proceeds of the first dance given by the Modesto Police Department at an initial cost of $1,500. It might be noted that the citizens of Modesto when informed that the proceeds of this dance was to purchase and install the radio system, there was almost a 100% response. This was the first two-way police radio in the Valley and the second in the State of California.
In 1935 the department was placed on the State Teletype System with its main office in Sacramento and stations located in the larger Counties of the State, 35 stations at that time. During Chief Smith’s 17 years of leadership, the Modesto Police Department grew to a progressive agency in the State. The department now had a Captain (Elmer Arington who would become the next Chief) and eight patrolmen. Modesto had grown to over 10,000 people. Chief Smith died February 28, 1937 in Modesto, Stanislaus County and is at rest at Modesto Pioneer Cemetery.
In February 2016, Thomas Smith the great, great grandson of Chief Lee Everett Smith presented the Historical Society with the service revolver carried by Chief Smith throughout his career.
Born April 11, 1889 in Gainsville, Texas, Chief Arington came to Butte County with his brother and subsequently settled in Modesto. Chief Arington joined the police department in 1920 at the rank of Captain and upon the retirement of Chief Smith was appointed the third Chief of Police. He continued with the advancement of law enforcement in Modesto.
One of his first accomplishments was getting an Ordinance passed by the City Council requiring the registration of all bicycles through the Department. The fee was twenty-five cents which covered the costs of the materials, the owner was issued a license plate and ownership certificate. This effectively reduced the theft of bicycles by 90 percent.
In 1938 a three-wheel motorcycle dispatch was added to the equipment. This motorcycle was equipped with a public address and radio receiver. The public address was used in directing traffic at public gatherings and establishing fire lines. The primary purpose of this dispatch motor was for the enforcement of the parking ordinance in the business district. This motor was often referred to as “The Headache Car” as it gave more people a headache than any other piece of equipment.
In this same year, an intercommunication system was put into use between the Police Department, Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office. The master unit was located in the Police Department with a speaker in each of the other offices and actually saved a great deal of time.
The department consisted of the Chief, Captain, two Sergeants, five Traffic Officers, eleven Patrolmen, one Secretary and one Clerk. The average salary was $110 to $150 per month and the population of Modesto was approaching 17,000 when Chief Arington suddenly died while in office on March 4, 1945.
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