The following article highlights the history of the Endicott Police Department. This article will briefly cover approximately 100 years of Police History.

In 1906 the first police force was established in what was then Endicott. From 1906 to 1921 the neighboring Village of Union had its own Police Department. In 1921, Union and Endicott merged to become the incorporated Village of Endicott. It was in that year the "Endicott Police Department" was established, combining the two forces.

During the first two years of this newly established Police Department three men took turns serving as Chief of Police. They were; 

           George Towne        1906-1907
           Frank Evans         1907-1908 
           James Conlon        1908-1908

 

It wasn't until 1908 that Endicott had its 1st OFFICIAL Chief of Police;


Chief J.J. Murphy 1908-1913

In 1913 a new Chief of Police was appointed; 

           Daniel Frutiger     1913 - 1935
[EPD Sidecar and ] When appointed he collected a salary of $80.00 per month. It was a common sight to see Frutiger patrolling the Village from his side car motorcycle. Not having a police vehicle capable of transporting prisoners, Frutiger was known to have hauled in drunks and prisoners with a wheel barrow. The first police lock up was described as being a square, bottomless wire cage. Some offenders placed in the lock up were known to have simply lifted the cage up and walked away.

 

[The EFD and EPD Building] In 1913 a new municipal building was built in the ten block of Washington Avenue. The building contained the Fire Department and the Police Department. There was a bowling alley in the basement and a gymnasium on the top floor. The M&T bank is presently located where this building once stood.

[The Three Man EPD] In 1916 the Police Department grew to a three man force. Capt. Earl Bedford, is believed to have been the first Endicott Police officer ever shot in the line of duty. Sometime in the mid 1920's Bedford was chasing a wanted person. The suspect hid in a coal bin and when Bedford moved in to make the arrest he was shot in the hand by the suspect. The suspect was eventually placed into custody by Capt. Bedford. Bedford survived his gunshot wounds.

During the 1920's Endicott's population was growing quickly due to the Endicott Johnson Corp. shoe industry. Also during the 20's came the era of the automobile. The police force continued to grow and it too moved into the automobile era.

[EPD in front of Paddy Wagon circa 1920's] A story of Sgt. Earl Van Etten coincides with the automobile era. Van Etten was on his walking beat when a Hudson sped by him. The driver ignored the blasts from Van Etten's whistle and kept on going. A second car, a Willys-Knight which had been in pursuit of the Hudson, stopped for the officer and quickly explained that the people in the car he was chasing had been robbing gas stations in Tioga County. Van Etten commandeered the Willys-Knight by jumping on to its side board and ordered the driver to "Follow that car!". As the pursuit hastened, Van Etten using his marksmanship skillfully shot out one of the tires of the Hudson. Needless to say this stopped the chase. The driver of the Hudson and his accomplice were arrested and it was learned they were escapee's from the state of Mass. They were driving a stolen car and had robbed several gas stations along their travels.

[Picture of a Destroyed Still circa 1930's] In 1926 the force was eleven men strong. During the year of 1926 the Police Department had a single telephone, three patrol vehicles; a prowl car, a patrol wagon and a motorcycle. They also had 10 revolvers. It would appear that two of the the eleven officers had to share a gun.

[Picture of a Destroyed Still circa 1930's] The 1930's was the prohibition era. During these years there were many home stills. To avoid detection home distilleries would conceal their operation by covering their windows and doing what ever else they could to prevent detection. To combat these home distilleries the Department developed a "Drill Team". When the police suspected a still was set up the drill team would use an auger to drill a hole in the wall, peek inside to get evidence they needed and then move in and shut down the still.

[Captured One-Armed Bandits] Gambling was also a constant police battle in the early days. Many slot machines were confiscated. The method of disposing of these machines was either by throwing them in the river or smashing them.

In 1935 the Police Department acquired its first ambulance. Its nickname was "The Black Mariah" (1935 Ford). The ever increasing population and numerous automobile accidents made it necessary to have an ambulance. The Black Mariah is still around today. Its owner lives in the Montrose Pa, area. The Police Dept. ran the ambulance service up until 1978 when it was then taken over by U.V.E.S.

[Ripley's Believe It Or Not on Chief Wike] In 1935 Leroy Wike was appointed Chief (1935 - 1954)
Chief WIKE was an amateur cartoonist. He enjoyed drawing portraits of the other policemen. In the early 1940's came the era of Police two way radios. The Endicott Police radio call letters were; W.I.K.E. How ironic that the call letters were same as the Police Chief's name. Being so unbelievable the Endicott Police Department managed to be mentioned in an edition of "Ripley's Believe It or Not".

In 1938 Sgt. Cordilione would become the second known Endicott Police Officer to be shot in the line of duty. Officers Sgt. Cordilione and Det. R. Seaver responded to a report of suspicious persons in a vehicle on Monroe Street. As the officers approached one of the two suspects fired a pistol at both officers striking Sgt. Cordilione in the hand. Det. Seaver returned fire striking one of the suspects in the elbow causing only a minor wound. The two suspects managed to escape a police drag net in the immediate area. After making their escape from the shoot out the pair stole a vehicle and went to Rochester N.Y. From there they hopped a train to N.Y.C. The suspects were later apprehended in N.Y.C. It was learned the suspects had escaped from a Florida Chain gang and came to Endicott to commit a robbery of a local Coal dealer, Joseph Kelly. Each were later convicted of attempted murder.

  • In 1942 the Department grew to a 24 man force.
  • In 1954 Leon Coleman was appointed Chief. (1954 - 1960)
  • In 1960 Delbert Pembridge was appointed Chief. (1960 - 1977)
  • In 1960 the current Police station was built at Park & Jefferson.

In 1964 Joseph Mariani, the owner of Spic & Span cleaners was murdered. This case remains unsolved. Although this case is more than thirty years old it has been actively worked as recent as 1996. Since this case is still an ongoing investigation many details cannot be discussed. ANY LEADS ARE WELCOMED!

  • The 1960's through 70's remained status Quo. It was business as usual. Any photographs or details of these years (60-70's) are welcomed. [The Chief Ford and President Reagan]
  • In 1977 Lee Sands was appointed Chief (1977 - 1983)
  • In 1983 Walter D. Ford Jr. was appointed Chief (1983 - 1994)
  • On September 12, 1984 President Ronald Reagan visited Endicott.
  • In 1984 the first female Police Officer, Tracy Ellis was appointed to the Department.

In 1985 the Endicott Police Bomb Squad was established. That squad was made up of four Police officers. The Bomb Squad currently is comprised of five Endicott Police Officers, two Endicott Firemen, one Broome County Fire Investigator and one Binghamton Fireman. 

In 1989 the D.A.R.E.  program was established. This program is no longer in effect and instead, EPD designated a full-time officer (Sept. 2005) as the School Resource Officer with the UE School District.   The SRO acts as a liason for all UE schools as well as BOCES Special Learning and the Endicott Police Department.  His job also involves educating students and staff on various aspects and applications of the Criminal Justice System with regard to juveniles/students.

  • In 1994 Gary F. O'Neill was appointed to Chief (1994 - 2004)

In July of 1995 a Bicycle Patrol was established. Some of the benefits of a bike patrol are; the ability to patrol areas which are not accessible to patrol cars, increase of officer visibility & creates public/police interaction. EPD currently has 3 officers assigned to Bike Patrol.

In 1995 & 1996 the SRT (Special Response Team) was developed. This specialized team was established to handle High Risk Incidents such as barricaded subjects or a hostage taking. The team is a multi-jurisdiction team comprised of the Endicott & Johnson City  Police Departments.

In late 1996 a Youth Court was established. Eligible Juveniles accused of committing a crime are tried by a Court of their own peers. This process is as an alternative to sending Juvenile Delinquents through the Family Court system. This alternative appears to be quite effective on the accused and is a valuable learning experience for the Youths who act as Court Officers.

In March of 1997 a Civilian Police Academy was established. This academy provides the public with the opportunity to learn more about Law Enforcement. It also creates better relationships between the Police Department and the community it serves.

In May, 2004, Laurie Sorensen became the first woman in the Department to be promoted to the position of Sergeant and Staff Officer.

In August of 2004, Michael R. Cox was appointed to Chief (2004-present)

 

Prepared by Ret. Capt. Steven Hackley