Newport Police
Material comes from Pieces of the Past, Volume 3, page 234 and reprinted here with the permission of the author, Jim Reis
Newport's police department began with a marshal and a handful of deputies.
An 1839 city directory listed
Charles Daniel
as Newport's city marshal. He lived on Taylor Street (now Third) and was
assisted by Charles Striker, who as listed as the town constable living on
Madison Street (now Fifth). At that time, the duties of enforcing the laws
and protecting citizens fell on the city marshal. At times, the marshal
was appointed by city leaders and at other times he was elected.
The Newport Military Barracks, located at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers, was a mixed blessing for early Newport marshals. The presence of the fort undoubtedly added to the vice, the number of bars, the drunkenness and the fights, but the military also had its own enforcement personnel. The fort also provided a quick and sufficient source for a posse, which was what a marshal used to hunt a major criminal.
It is not clear when the term police appeared in connection with Newport, but as early as December 24, 1863, newspaper accounts talked of hiring "special policemen." An account on August 31, 1864 listed Newport's newest deputy marshals as C C Harris and Barney Strotcamp.
The conversion from a system of a city marshal and deputies to a police department with a chief and patrol officers came over a series of years in the late 1860s and early 1870s. In 1875 David R Lock was listed as the first chief of police as well as city marshal. J C Taylor and J P Jackson were listed as deputies, with Charles Smith as a lieutenant.
As early as 1877, police operations were under scrutiny. A Newport Local account of February 20, quoted critics who complained that the police were never present when they were needed and spent too much time on drunks and disorderly women and not enough time catching thieves and robbers. City officials countered there were not enough officers to handle all the crime. To properly cover the entire city, officials said the police force should be doubled.
In June 1879 the Newport City Council again discussed the idea of giving police officers an extra $1 or $2 for each arrest. It was determined such payments were not legal. Typical of how departments were set up at the time was in appointment of Lock as Newport police chief in 1880. At a meeting called by the mayor, each of the three city commissioners nominated a different person for chief. Two finally agreed on Lock; another candidate, Thomas Cottingham became lieutenant.
On November 13, 1884 Officer James Edgar became the first Newport policeman to be killed in the line of duty. When Albert S Berry became Newport mayor in December 1888, he wiped out the entire police department, appointed a new chief, lieutenant and patrol officers. He also ordered all officers to wear full uniforms. He instructed the Chief Louis Betz, and lieutenant, Julius Plummer to wear epaulets on their uniform shirts to distinguish them from the rest of the force.
When William O B Stricker became police chief in 1895 he reversed the uniform policy. By 1895 the salary of the police lieutenant was set at $2.28 and a half cents per day, while patrol officers got $2 a day. All were paid on a monthly basis. The cost of operating the Newport department was listed in a newspaper account on January 1, 1896 at $4300, that included $2500 for patrol officers, $500 for detective work, $300 for hiring substitutes and $1000 for cost involved in criminal apprehensions.
To aid in police work, a system of emergency phones linked directly to the police and fire stations was installed in 1903. In August 1916 Newport adopted an eighteen hour day work schedule for police officers. By 1918 Newport police were making $75 a month.
One of the better known patrol officers of the era was William Manwaring. He began in 1914 as the county's only motorcycle officer, patrolling by himself virtually all of Campbell County with the exception of Newport, Bellevue and Dayton. He was later hired by Newport and put on a "purity squad" to clean up the city. A victim of that year was 54 year old Officer August Gus Schoo, who was shot and killed on a sidewalk in from of 328 Washington Ave. on June 14, 1930.
More recently, 34 year old Stanley Tex Pitakos, was killed in a gun battle with a robbery suspect, Roosevelt Dawson Jr. on October 16, 1958 at Fourth and York. On December 30, 1984 Patrolman Anthony Jansen was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer after responding to a report of trouble in the 700 block of York Street.