History Of The Bartow Police Department

    More than 100 years ago, when Bartow's first town Marshal was chosen,  the small horse and buggy town could hardly have foreseen the growth that was to encompass it in the coming century.  C.C. Gresham was elected the first town Marshal on July 1, 1882 when the citizens saw a need for better legal protection, and incorporated the town.  The ordinance went into effect several weeks later, promoting this article in the newspaper: "There will be no more drunken brawling or shooting about the streets of Bartow, as such fun now costs from  eleven to sixty dollars in each case."  Indeed,  Marshal Gresham's biggest responsibility in that retrospectively Utopian town of the early 1880's was to stop drunken brawls from occurring in the streets.   After a 15 year period during which town marshals were elected, the town switched to a system whereby the Marshal was appointed.  The salary in those days was $50 per month.  Though the crimes seem to have grown more heinous and more frequent since those "good old days," the death of a police officer in the line of duty was not unheard of at that time.  In 1886, Bartow's town Marshal was killed in a shootout that left his assistant severely wounded.  Not as bound by law as today's society, Bartow's citizens took the law into their own hands and lynched the persons responsible for the Marshal's death.  

The Bartow Police Department has evolved over the years from a one man, 15-hour-a-day department to a staff of 47 sworn and 28 non-sworn personnel who provide Law Enforcement services to the citizens of Bartow.

   SUMMARY OF MARSHALS/CHIEFS

1882/1883:         Marshal C.C. Gresham

1883:                  Marshal George H. Blackwell

1883:                  Marshal R.T. Kilpatrick

1884/1886:         Marshal A.S. Campbell (Killed in the line of duty)

1886/1887:         Marshal W.T. Hall

1887/1888:         Marshal J.F. McCormick

1888/1890:         Marshal W.F. Prince

1890/1893:         Marshal R.T. Kilpatrick

1893/1897:         Marshal L.E. Jones

1897:                  Marshal Y.S. Dial

1897/1902:         Marshal C.C. Gresham

1902/1903:         Marshal John Read

1903:                  Marshal Latt Allen Jr.

1903/1906:         Marshal J.E. Childs

1906/1909:         Marshal C.C. Gresham

1909/1911:         Marshal B.C. Williams

1911:                  Marshal J.R. Wiggins

1911/1939          Unknown

1940/1951:         Chief Guy Bostick

1951/1955:         Chief William H. Devault

1955/1958:         Chief Roscoe Thornhill   

1958/1962          Chief Ellie T. Wilson

1962/1967:         Chief K.C. Myers

1967/1969:         Chief Louis Cromartie

1969/1970:         Interim Chief Don Carter

1970/1974:         Chief C.T. Clark

1974/1976:         Chief Marvin Pitman

1976/1978:         Chief Jack Cunningham

1978/1986:         Chief C.A. Fleming

1986/1995:         Chief M.L. "Roy" McKinsey

1995/1997:         Chief Tony R. Sparks

1997/1998:         Interim Chief D.M. Hoecherl

1998/2007:         Chief Erik Sandvik

2007/2008:         Interim Director Larry G. Williams Jr.

2008/Present     Interim Chief David Brooks