Common Council resolutions and reports began to be organized by a numbering system in Dec. 1932. Before that time the resolutions were kept folded up in chronological order, roughly by subject or Council committee (such as Parks, Judiciary, Fire, Police, etc.). This set of pre-1932 resolutions represents those labeled as the Police Department.
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 paid 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.
