Rochester Police Department

Rochester Police Department
Abbreviation	RPD
Patch of the Rochester Police Department
Motto	Serving With Pride
Agency overview
Formed	December 28, 1819
Preceding agency	Metropolitan Police
Annual budget	US$ 76.201 Million (2011–2012)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of Rochester in the state of New York, USA
Map of Rochester Police Department's jurisdiction.
Size	37 square miles (96 km2)
Population	230,000
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction.
Primary governing body	Mayor of Rochester, New York
Secondary governing body	Rochester City Council
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	185 Exchange Boulevard, Rochester
Police Officers	726 (2011–2012)
Unsworn members	143.5 (2011–2012)
Agency executive	Michael L. Ciminelli, Chief of Department
Units	Patrol Division East Patrol Division West Special Operations Division
Facilities
Stations	Headquarters Patrol Division East Patrol Division West Animal Control Center Special Operations Division
Website
www.cityofrochester.gov/police
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Rochester Police Department, also known as the RPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Rochester, New York, reporting to the city mayor. It currently has approximately 869 officers and support staff, a budget of approximately $75 million, and covers an area of 37 square miles (96 km²). The Rochester Police Department has been under a court-ordered federal consent decree from the United States Department of Justice since 1975 over its hiring practices. The decree was part of a 1975 settlement involving racial discrimination.

Rochester hired a constable and formed a nightwatch, which first went active on December 28, 1819. Addy Van Slyck was hired as the first police chief in 1853. The police department was reorganized into the Metropolitan Police in 1865.

RPD was the first department in New York State to adopt a police telegraph system in 1886.

In 1893, the department established a bicycle division consisting of two officers who apprehended a daily average of 25 "scorchers" (speeders). The department fielded a mounted division in 1895—officers were expected to supply their own horses.

In 1905, the department added a traffic bureau consisting of officers stationed at busy Main Street intersections (East Avenue, St. Paul Street, State Street, and Fitzhugh Street). The chief traffic offenders of the time were haywagons. The city installed traffic lights in 1922.

The department's first policewoman, Nellie L. McElroy, was also the first to be appointed under civil service rules in New York State. The department's first African-American officer, Charles Price, was hired in 1947.

Since the establishment of the Rochester Police Department, 14 officers have died in the line of duty.

In October 1990, while serving as Chief of Police Gordan Urlacher was arrested in Mayor Thomas Ryan's office on charges of conspiracy and embezzlement. He was dismissed as chief two months later. On February 25, 1992, former Rochester Police Chief Gordon Urlacher was convicted of three counts of embezzlement and one count of conspiracy for stealing police funds between 1988 and 1990 when he was Chief of the Police. On March 5, 1992 the former Chief was sentenced to four years in Federal prison for embezzling more than $200,000 in Police Department funds. Urlacher was also ordered by a Federal judge to repay $150,000 to the city and to spend 12 years on supervised probation.

The federal investigation into Chief Urlacher's theft of $300,000 of public funds led to a deeper probing of the entire police department which resulted in charges being brought against 5 additional police officers. The five officers, all members of the vice squad, were accused of beating and terrorizing drugs suspects and skimming drug profits. The 19 counts of police brutality included accusations of the use of unauthorized weapons to beat or threaten suspects, including blackjacks, a cattle prod and lead-filled leather gloves. On December 7, 1992 former Chief, Urlarcher pleaded guilty to the felony conspiracy to violate civil rights admitting that he knew about the civil rights abuses but did nothing about them. During a high-profile 10-week trial 12 officers testified against their 5 colleagues. In the end, the five officers were found not guilty on all charges.