Kansas Law Enforcement History
When you think of the "wild west", the first thing that comes to mind might be gunfights at the OK Corral in Tombstone Arizona, or maybe fighting off Apache warriors in the desert. Many people don't realize that Kansas is the original wild west.
Kansas is full of "old west" history which of course carries over into law enforcement.
As people headed west, they often brought crime and disorder along with them.
With Kansas growing as a new territory, there was a demand for law officers. Some of the most famous names of the wild west, "Wild Bill" Hickok, "Bat" Masterson and Wyatt Earp all came to Kansas to take part in the new found duties.
In 1857, "Wild Bill" (James Butler) Hickok arrived in Kansas to serve as the first town constable of Monticello Township (what is now part of Shawnee & Lenexa). Hickock stayed in the area until about 1861 when he moved on to Nebraska. Around 1870, he returned to Kansas, serving as the city marshal and Sheriff of Hays. In 1871, he took over as the town marshal of Abilene, after the serving marshal Tom Smith was killed.
As the marshal in Abilene, Hickok had an ongoing dispute with the owner of the Bulls Head Saloon. On October 5, 1871, Hickok was trying to control a crowd during a street brawl near the saloon. Coe fired two shots at Hickok. Hickok returned fire and killed Coe. Hickok, whose eyesight was poor by that time in his life from early stages of glaucoma, caught the glimpse of movement of someone running toward him. He quickly fired one shot in reaction, accidentally shooting and killing Abilene Special Deputy Marshal Mike Williams, who was coming to assist him. Because he accidentally killed deputy Mike Williams, Hickock was relieved of his duties shortly after.
In 1876, "Bat" (William Bartholomew) Masterson went to Dodge City to be with his brothers. One brother, Jim co-owned a saloon. Another brother, Ed was a deputy sheriff.
Not long after he arrived, Masterson had a dispute with the local marshal about the treatment of a man being arrested. He was put in jail and fined, but his fine was later returned to him by the city council. In 1877, Masterson became a deputy with the Ford County Sheriffs Office. He worked along with fellow Ford County deputy, Wyatt Earp until Masterson was elected Sheriff. Masterson remained in office as Sheriff until 1879 when he was voted out. During his time as sheriff, his brother Ed was the marshal of Dodge City. Ed was killed in the line of duty on April 9th, 1878. Though he was mortally wouded in the shootout, he was able to return fire, killing his attacker. After serving as Sheriff, "Bat" moved on to Tombstone and points west.
On April 21st in 1875, Wyatt Earp became a part of the Wichita Marshal's Office.
He worked as a Wichita deputy until April 2nd 1876, when he had some accusations made against him by former marshal Bill Smith during the city marshal elections.
Earp responded by beating Smith. The city marshal, Mike Meagher was forced to fire Earp and arrest him for disorderly conduct. After the incident, Earp decided to move on to Dodge City. In 1876, Earp was appointed as an assistant marshal under Marshal Larry Deger. Earp left Dodge City for a while before returning in 1878 to serve as assistant city marshal under Marshal Charlie Basset. Earp resigned on September 9th 1878 and went to New Mexico and later, Tombstone.
The Shawnee County Sheriffs Office and the Topeka police department date back to 1855 and 1857, but larger agencies such as the Kansas City & Wichita police departments were not formed until the 1870's. The 1880's saw the advent of "modern" type police forces starting to take shape as the population of the area grew.
With the turn of the century, Kansas started to become a bit more civilized. Police departments became more involved with the use such inventions as call boxes, and motorcycles.
In 1933, with the use of motor vehicles and crime on the increase, the Kansas Highway Patrol was formed.
In 1934, the Kansas City Police Department was the first agency west of the Mississippi to install a 2-way radio communications system.
During World War 2, Kansas had numerous military bases. After the war, many of the soldiers stayed in the area and the population explosion began. This is when many people starting moving out of the cities and into newer suburbs.
Although Kansas has law enforcement history dating back over 100 years, many Kansas police departments were formed until as recently as the 1950's and later.
Left: Masterson / Earp - 1876, in Dodge City. Right: The "Dodge City Peace Commission," June 1883. From left to right, standing: W.H. Harris, Luke Short, Bat Masterson, W.F. Petillon. Seated: Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Frank McLain and Neal Brown.