Key West Police Department
| Key West Police Department | |
| Abbreviation | KWPD |
 |
|
| Patch of the Key West Police Department. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of Key West in the state of Florida, USA |
 |
|
| Map of Key West Police Department's jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 7.4 square miles (19 km2) |
| Population | 25,478 (2000) |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Key West, Florida |
| Agency executive | Donald J. Lee, Jr, Chief of Police |
| Website | |
| Key West Police | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Key West Police Department (KWPD) is a full-service law enforcement agency servicing a population of 25,031 and 6 square miles[1] within the municipality of Key West, Florida.
Contents |
[edit] History
Law enforcement within the city of Key West originated at the incorporation of the city in 1828 with a town Marshal. The jail was the brig of a ship docked at the city. By the turn of the century, in 1900 the KWPD had a complement of 13 sworn officers.[2] On April 23, 1982, the KWPD was the "official" police force of the tongue-in-cheek Conch Republic.
[edit] Organization
The KWPD is divided into two bureaus:[3]
- Operations Bureau
- Administration Bureau
The current Chief of Police is Donald J. Lee, Jr.,[4]
[edit] Controversy
In June 1984, the KWPD was declared a criminal Enterprise under the Federal RICO statutes after a lengthy United States Department of Justice investigation. Several high-ranking officers of KWPD, including Deputy Police Chief Raymond Cassamayor, were arrested on federal charges of running a protection racket for illegal cocaine smugglers.[5] At trial, a witness testified he routinely delivered bags of cocaine to the Deputy Chief's office at City Hall.[6]
[edit] Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Key West Police Department, three officers have died in the line of duty.[7]
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Police Officer Clarence K. Till |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Norman Alvin Drew |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Detective John Michael Piskator |
|
Heart attack |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Key West (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
- ^ City of Key West: Police Department History
- ^ Key West Florida ~ Police Department
- ^ Key West Florida ~ Office of the Chief
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E4D71539F932A35754C0A962948260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fF%2fFederal%20Bureau%20of%20Investigation%20 Key West Police Department Called a 'Criminal Enterprise' - New York Times
- ^ http://www.livableoldtown.com/from_wrecking_to_smuggling_to_de.htm Keys have long history of corruption
- ^ "The Officer Down Memorial Page". http://odmp.org/agency/1978-key-west-police-department-florida.
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
