The brawling and rioting of the 1840’s and 1850’s finally led American cities to establish police departments: Boston, in 1837; New York in 1845, and Philadelphia, 1854. For Washington D.C. though the Civil War served as a catalyst.
The first appointed Chief of Police was William B. Webb(1861-1963) President Abraham Lincoln who appointed Zanas C. Robbins, a prominent Washington DC businessman, its first Police Commissioner went to New York to conduct a review of New York's police department and then return to Washington and being implementing the same or similar police proceedings as New York. This then created the qualifications for police officers |
Qualifications
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Washington Pride
Because of its presence in the federal city, the Metropolitan Police Department has played a unique role in history-making events of our nation. In 1865, when President Lincoln was assassinated, the young MPDC assisted the War Department's intensive investigations to locate the assassin, John Wilkes Booth. In 1881, the force was again involved in national tragedy when President James A. Garfield was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Depot on B Street. An MPDC private seized the assassin before he escaped from the scene. Happier events such as the presidential and mayoral inaugurations, national parades, and the annual Metropolitan Police Department Parade gave the police an opportunity to show their professionalism and pride.
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