Fighting rum runners, who found havens in the inlets of Biscayne Bay, tearing down illegal whisky “stills”, houses of prostitution, gambling and drunk and reckless drivers, were the biggest problems facing law enforcement, when South Florida gave birth to its newest town in 1926. It was the height of prohibition. On February 5, 1926 the town was formed with the approval of the majority of the city’s 49 registered voters. One of the town’s first official duties was to provide for law enforcement to its population of 3,000 people. Incorporated as the City of Miami Shores, it wasn’t until 1932, that the name was changed to North Miami. Mr. J.T. Williams was elected as the first town marshal, with the understanding he would only serve temporarily, at his request, since he was unable to spare sufficient time to manage his own business and the police department on a permanent basis.

On March 29, 1926, Clarence Alexander MacDonald was appointed as the town’s marshal after William’s resignation. Marshal MacDonald was also given the tasks of Fire Marshall and Tax Collector. He was paid $50 a week for his services. The first police station was built with bond monies approved by the voters in a referendum in November 1926. The building housing the police station, jail, fire station and water pumping plant was constructed at a cost of $94,000 and was built within a few feet from the current police headquarters building. Marshal MacDonald purchased the city’s first fire engine and set up the first motorcycle patrol to catch speeders. In addition to Marshal McDonald, the department only had one other officer, F.B. Potts who patrolled on a motorcycle with a sidecar.

In 1930, Reuben T. Bennett became the next and first Town Marshall of the renamed Town of North Miami. Marshal Bennett was a popular marshal and a newspaper article about the election in 1932, reported him winning his third reelection by a margin of 3-to-1. The same newspaper article reported, “North Miami is one of the most progressive towns in Florida”. Thus North Miami’s “City of Progress” motto was born, which still suits today.

The first historically documented Chief of Police of North Miami was Karl Engel who was appointed to lead the department on October 12, 1945. In addition to Chief Engel, the department consisted of two sergeants and four patrolmen, two deskmen and the first police dog: a Doberman Pincher named “Duke”. The city’s population was approximately 12,000 residents and Biscayne Park had an additional 3,000, which the city also serviced. During his tenure, Chief Engel hired eight “patrolwomen” equipped only with a badge and whistle, empowered to “detain motorists and sign affidavits”. He also added additional officers. The department was organized into five divisions: Uniform, Identification, Detective and Juvenile, Traffic and Communications. His legacy was the North Dade Youth Foundation, Inc. an organization for the boys and girls of the city.

In 1959, he was succeeded by Wayne Thurman, who had served as a Sergeant and as a Lieutenant in charge of the Detective Bureau under Chief Engel. Early in his law enforcement career, he was appointed the town’s juvenile officer, devoting much of his time to juvenile delinquency. He was also the athletic coach and director of the North Miami foundation initiated by Chief Engel. At the time he accepted the city’s top law enforcement position, the department consisted of a Chief, four lieutenants, seven sergeants, and 28 officers. Police work was changing, so North Miami sent Chief Thurman in 1960, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s renowned National Academy. The police department moved to a new facility, the Public Justice Building, in October 1964, located at 13130 N.E. 8th Avenue and was constructed at a cost of $239,000. Also built with bond monies, the Public Justice Building housed the North Miami Police Department as well as the North Miami Municipal Court.

Chief Thurman served until his retirement in 1972 and was succeeded by James Patrick Devaney. Chief Devaney implemented many programs during his tenure and oversaw the transition when the department became integrated in 1973 and also hired its first female police officer. He started the department’s Narcotics and Crime Suppression Units, Juvenile Unit, Marine Patrol and the Police Explorers Post. In an effort to patrol more area he put officers on small Honda motorcycles instead of walking beats.

In 1980, Tom O’Connell succeeded Chief Devany. He was the department’s first trained undercover officer and started the Narcotics Unit under Chief Thurman in 1969. During Chief O’Connell’s tenure, he changed the “look” of the department, by introducing navy blue uniforms and adding colorful striping to the police vehicles instead of the plain “black and whites”. He implemented the department’s Homicide and Canine Units and promoted the department’s first minority hire to the rank of Sergeant. In the early hours of November 5, 1980, Officer Carl Mertes was the first North Miami police officer to be killed in the line of duty. It was, the first death of an officer among its ranks, the force was devastated. Chief O’Connell retired in April of 1983.

Thomas Flom was promoted to chief in 1983. The department had 92 sworn officers on the force. So far, he has been the only Chief of Police who was raised in the city and a graduate of North Miami High School. These were the days of the “Cocaine Cowboys and Marielitos murders”, when Dade County was inundated with homicides. He was responsible for changing the weapons carried by officers from revolvers to semi-automatic weapons. Chief Flom focused on training and initiated the transition to computerize police records. At the time of his retirement in July 1991, the department had grown to 112 sworn police officers plus 25 civilian personnel for a total force of 137 persons. He was the last chief to serve under the city’s rules of Civil Service.

In 1991, Kenneth Each was named Chief of Police. He introduced the concept of community policing to the city and opened three mini-police stations, bringing the police closer to the community. He introduced computerized dispatching to the Complaint Desk and implemented the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team. He also started the vehicle take-home program for police officers. In 1994, Chief Each implemented the first citizens’ Police Academy in Dade County. The Parks Police Unit, Crime Scene and Code Enforcement Units were all added to the department.

The second death of a North Miami police officer occurred on January 3, 1992, just six months into Chief Each’s administration. Detective Bauer was shot and killed in the line of duty during a bank robbery. Following his death, the voters of North Miami approved a $5 million special bond issue to build a new police headquarters building. The new building would be named the Sergeant Steven E. Bauer Police Building in his memory and would be dedicated to all future fallen officers, killed in the line of duty. Less than two years after Bauer’s death, North Miami lost its third officer in the line of duty. Officer Lynette Hodge responded to a fellow officer’s emergency call for help during the midnight shift on November 16, 1993. En route to help, she lost control of her police vehicle, which flipped over, throwing her from her vehicle. She died fourteen hours later. And so it was, that in 1997 the police department, for the third time in its history, started to move to its current location at 700 N.E. 124 Street. The formal dedication was held June 20, 1997, just weeks before Chief Each retired after 27 years of service.

Thomas S. Hood was named interim Chief of Police June 30, 1997, after being promoted to Assistant Chief of Police in April 1997. In 1997 the department had 118 sworn officers and 55 civilian support personnel, for a total staff of 163. In the two months following his appointment the Family Violence Unit was implemented. He was named Chief of Police on November 10, 1997. He arranged the department’s first Community Open House and Family Day. Under Chief Hood the move into the new Sergeant Steven E. Bauer Police Building was completed. The new building included a training classroom, community meeting room, men and women’s locker rooms and a fully equipped gym. He also provided the patrol officers with laptop computers in their police vehicles. In June 2000, the department received accreditation status from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation. Chief Hood retired on January 11, 2002.

On January 14, 2002, Gwendolyn V. Boyd was named Chief of Police. Chief Boyd is North Miami’s current top law enforcement officer and the first African-American chief in the history of the department. In Chief Boyd’s short tenure, she has expanded the Community Policing concept by establishing neighborhood zones and assigned a Community Police Officer to each zone. A Community Policing Coalition group has also been formed so that community and police can work together on matters of mutual interest and concern. As a result of our expanded Community Policing initiatives, participation in citizen and business crime watch programs have increased significantly. We also acquired our first Community Policing Universal Hiring grant from the Department of Justice, which provided seven police officer positions. In 2002, with the assistance of our business partners, we produced our first Annual Report. Additionally, Chief Boyd has implemented the department’s first Strategic Management Plan (2002-2005), clearly defining the department’s goals, objectives and strategies. A computerized statistical analysis tool (Stat Trax) has been implemented to better analyze crime patterns and therefore develop and evaluate proactive crime reduction strategies.

The North Miami Police Department, in partnership with the community, is committed to providing professional, efficient and courteous public service by creating a safe environment and improving the quality of life for those we serve in an atmosphere of respect, courtesy and integrity.

• related links: History of the City of North Miami