Middlebury Police Department – Part I

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Members of the 1958 Middlebury Police Department, front, left to right, Harold Tucker, Charles Squires Sr., Dick Messenger, Howie Whittaker and Fred Adamson and back, left to right, Charles Squires Jr., Floyd Johnston, Al Terry, George Long, Mike Capalupo and Ray Messenger, Chief and First Selectman. (Photo by Don A. Coviello, 27 June 1958)

By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD

John Adams (1735-1826) said, we are a “government of laws and not of men.” Throughout the ages, police officers have played an essential role in the enforcement of a country’s laws, the protection of its citizens and the keeping of the peace. Without their tireless dedication and sacrifice, our society could not exist.

Dwight Loomis and Joseph Calhoun, editors of Judicial and Civil History of Connecticut, state, “The oldest office in Connecticut is that of the constable.” The word constable is ancient, originally having to do with tending stables for monarchs. However, for most of recorded history constables have been keepers of the peace, although their responsibilities differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Constables have existed in this country from as early as 1650, as described in research presented to the Office of Legislative Research by Lawrence K. Furbish, assistant director. The office of constable was transported to Connecticut from England, where constables were present to “preserve the peace.”

Furbish writes that the two basic types of constables are elected and appointed; the former have law enforcement functions while elected constables primarily serve civil process and tax warrants. However, towns can, by ordinance, make elected constables law enforcement officials.

He writes, “At one time, each town was required to appoint one constable specifically to collect its portion of the state tax (such as the corporation tax) on towns. The office has developed to the point where the constable provides the main law enforcement authority in some towns with no organized police department or resident state trooper. In towns with resident state troopers, the constables are under the direct supervision of the trooper.”

Middlebury had constables from the town’s very beginning in 1807. Stiles Thompson and Amos Benham were our first constables. William Paul Johnson (1871-1969) and his wife, Mary Rosaline Igoe (1875-1953), are names familiar to many Middleburians. “Bill” was a constable with the Middlebury Police Department for more than 50 years.

The earliest Middlebury Annual Town Report reference to police functions came in 1911, when a $10 Constable Bond was paid to Henry L. Rowland. Thereafter, police duty was shown in town expenditures for most of the years; for example, $14 in 1924, $88.50 in 1929, $303 in 1931. In 1920, the dog warden was paid $11.31.

Middlebury had constables and special constables. In 1943, for example, constables were William P. Johnson, Frederick V. Pope, Charles W. Squires, Charles F. Loomis, Joseph McNellis, Christopher W. Riley, Walter F. Folgmann and Lewis G. Knowlton. Special Constables were Melville W. Skiff and Richard J. Finley.

Bob Rafford is the Middlebury Historical Society president and Middlebury’s municipal historian. To join or contact the society, visit MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Bob at 203-206-4717.