Title: La Crosse, Wisconsin, Police Department Records
Date: 1871-1977

Creator:

• La Crosse (Wis.). Police Dept.

Unique Identifier: La Crosse Series 003

Quantity: 9.0 cubic feet

Physical Description: 20 archives boxes, 2 flat boxes

Repository:

La Crosse Public Library
Contact Information

Archival Location:

La Crosse Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

City of La Crosse Police Department records dating from 1871-1977 include journals and logs such as account books (1929-1941), ambulance log (1926-1946), criminal docket records (1933-1935), a log of jail lodgers (1928-1932; 1935-1941), timebooks kept for payroll purposes (1913-1915; 1947-1952), and a record of street lighting (1896-1907).

Reports include daily reports and arrest logs (1898-1954), stolen and lost goods (1871-1908), and several comparison studies of motor vehicle related arrests and accidents. Two external reports (1954 and 1977), are investigations of the department. Miscellaneous materials include a volume of dog licenses or fines (1917), a guest book of an hotel on Pearl Street called the American House (1907-1908), and criminal mugshots (1920s). Lastly there is also a small file on Milton L. Beck, a local man killed in a railway accident in Iowa in 1917.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.lcpl-lacrosseseries003

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(Accession no. 1984.001) Donated by Robert Loeffler, formerly of the Police Department, 1984 February 9

(Accession no. 1999.005) Transferred by Lt. G. J. Kabat of the Police Department, 1999 February 16

Materials in this collection are available for patron use.

[Identification of item], La Crosse, Wisconsin, Police Department Records, La Crosse Series 003, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI

Processed by Amy Groskopf, May 1988; and Nancy Steinhoff, Aug. 1990; additions processed by Anita Taylor Doering, April 1999

The records (1871-1977) include journals and logs, reports, and miscellaneous files. The journals and logs include an account book, daybooks, payroll books, a criminal docket book, and an ambulance log book. The account book (1929-1941) contains a monthly summary of bills paid. Information available includes payee and amount paid but not what was paid for. The daybooks (1942-1946) contain day-by-day brief accounts of arrests and other events. The payroll books (1947-1952) list each employee and the days they worked. The ambulance log book (1926-1946) records the name of the person transported, the pick-up location, their destination, the names of the doctor and ambulance driver, and a brief description of the call. The criminal docket gives an account of the disposition of cases which came before the police judge, mostly traffic law violations and drunk and disorderly arrests. No felony cases are included.

The reports (1954-1977) were prepared by persons employed both inside and outside of the department. Reports produced internally deal with enforcement of traffic laws and generally date from the 1960s. The remainder of the reports are studies done by outside consultants on departmental operations during the 1970s.

The remaining records include mugshots of persons arrested and/or wanted for various crimes. The mugshots are arranged alphabetically by last name and generally date from the 1920s. Information available with each photo consists of suspect’s name, known aliases, physical description, and crimes committed. Another folder includes information about Milton L. Beck, a local man killed in a railway accident in Iowa in 1917.

At the time La Crosse was incorporated as a city in 1856, there was no organized police department. As the city grew, its system of daytime marshals and night watchmen became inadequate to protect the residents. By 1868 La Crosse had acquired a reputation as a wild Mississippi River town and rail center. As a result, in that same year, a group of influential citizens petitioned for a regular full-time police force under a police chief, but the Common Council denied their requests. Finally on April 12, 1870, newly-elected Mayor Theodore Rodolf, fulfilling campaign promises, appointed John Simonton as La Crosse's first police chief.

The office of police chief was at first a political appointment, and the individual selected would often change with each new mayor. The Common Council also maintained control over the police department by controlling salaries and other expenditures. In 1897 the formation of the Police and Fire Commission allowed the police department to loosen some of its political ties with the Common Council.

With the advent of automobiles a separate traffic division was organized to enforce traffic laws and direct traffic. The police department also directed the ambulance service. During the 1960s and 1970s, the police department was surrounded by a great deal of controversy, and undertook a number of investigations and studies. One of these reports (1977) is included.

(La Crosse Series 002)

La Crosse, Wisconsin, Committee on Police, Resolutions and Reports Relating to the Police Department

• La Crosse (Wis.). Police Dept.
• Municipal government--Wisconsin--La Crosse
• Police--Records and correspondence--Wisconsin--La Crosse
• Police--Wisconsin--La Crosse
• Public records--Wisconsin--La Crosse

	Journals and logs
Box 15   Folder 1	Account book, 1929-1941
Box 15   Folder 2	Ambulance log book, 1926-1946
Box 21	Criminal docket, 1933-1935
Box 16 Box 17	Jail lodgers, 1928-1941
Box 18   Folder 1-3	Payroll journals and timebook, 1913-1915, 1947-1952
Box 18   Folder 4	Street lighting record, 1896-1907
	Reports
Box 1-14	Daily reports and arrests logs, 1898-1954
Box 18   Folder 5	Management study of the La Crosse Police Department, 1977
	Motor vehicle related
Box 18   Folder 6	Comparison of traffic arrests, 1966-1969
Box 18   Folder 7	Police vehicle accident frequency summary, 1969-1970
Box 18   Folder 8	Police vehicle accident summary, 1968-1971
Box 18   Folder 9	Ten-year motor vehicle accident fatality summary, 1960-1970
Box 18   Folder 10	Traffic law enforcement summaries, 1967-1971
Box 18   Folder 11	Special Investigation Committee, 1954
Box 19   Folder 1-2	Stolen and lost goods reports, 1871-1903
Box 19   Folder 3-4	Stolen bicycles reports, 1903-1908, 1966-1967
Box 18   Folder 12	Survey of La Crosse Police Department, circa 1959
Box 22   Folder 1	Dog fines and licenses, 1917
Box 22   Folder 2	Guest book of the American House, 1907-1908
	Mugshots, circa 1920s
Box 20   Folder 1	Bachman, Fred
Box 20   Folder 1	Baier, Ed. R.
Box 20   Folder 1	Baker, Frank
Box 20   Folder 1	Baker, Robert
Box 20   Folder 1	Ballard, George & Clarence
Box 20   Folder 1	Bannock, James
Box 20   Folder 1	Bauer, Raymond
Box 20   Folder 1	Bayless, Rex
Box 20   Folder 1	Beach, Ben
Box 20   Folder 5	Beck, Milton L., 1917
Box 20   Folder 1	Becker, Ben
Box 20   Folder 1	Becker, Martin
Box 20   Folder 1	Beddin, William A.
Box 20   Folder 1	Bell, Oliver
Box 20   Folder 1	Benton, James
Box 20   Folder 1	Bickell, Loren
Box 20   Folder 1	Bigelow, Glenn
Box 20   Folder 1	Bischoff, Louis
Box 20   Folder 2	Bogart, Ben
Box 20   Folder 2	Bolgrien, Isabell
Box 20   Folder 2	Borly, Vene
Box 20   Folder 2	Boswell, Benjamin
Box 20   Folder 2	Bowlin, Frank J.
Box 20   Folder 2	Boyle, Pat J.
Box 20   Folder 2	Brinkman, Albert
Box 20   Folder 2	Brooks, Archibald
Box 20   Folder 3	Brown, Frank
Box 20   Folder 3	Brown, Walter
Box 20   Folder 3	Brueling, Fred
Box 20   Folder 3	Burns, Milton James
Box 20   Folder 3	Byers, Herbert
Box 20   Folder 3	Carlson, John A.
Box 20   Folder 3	Carnahan, Oran M.
Box 20   Folder 3	Carroll, Roy
Box 20   Folder 3	Clark, Harry Samuel
Box 20   Folder 3	Coffman, Joseph
Box 20   Folder 3	Cohen, Joseph
Box 20   Folder 3	Colby, Peter
Box 20   Folder 3	Commas, Sam
Box 20   Folder 4	Cornell, Clifton
Box 20   Folder 4	Cowen, Harry
Box 20   Folder 4	Connors, Ed
Box 20   Folder 4	Connors, John W.
Box 20   Folder 4	Crom, Lawrence
Box 20   Folder 4	Curtin, John
Box 20   Folder 4	Halter, John
Box 20   Folder 4	Harison, John
Box 20   Folder 4	Hayes, John
Box 20   Folder 4	Hubbs, Clayton W.
Box 20   Folder 4	Inslee, Harry