Name | Title | Dates of Service | Comments |
Jimmy Douglass | Constable | 1869 | Douglass was Officer of the Court for the Justice of the Peace, Charles H. Mayer. (See photograph in Arizona: Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern. Vol. II) Mayer, the town druggist, was completely innocent of the law. Douglass was a disabled veteran of Gettysburg and, reportedly, a fearless deputy. (Source: John Spring's Arizona. Page 194.) |
William Morgan | May 17, 1871-July 14, 1871 | Morgan was the first town marshal. He served for only two months before leaving Tucson. (Source: "William Morgan: First village marshal of Tucson." Arizoniana. Vol. 3, No. 3 (1962) Pages 47-50.) | |
John Miller | Marshal | July 24, 1871-January 5, 1873 | "John Miller: Pioneer Lawman." Arizoniana. Vol 4, No. 2 (1963) Pages 41-47. |
Francis M. Hodges | Marshal | July 24, 1871–March 8, 1873 | |
John S. Thayer | Marshal | March 13, 1873-May 8, 1873 | Thayer was a former probate judge, July 20, 1868–? |
Francisco Esparza | Marshal | May 8, 1873-January 4, 1875 | |
Adolph. G. Buttner | Marshal/Chief of Police | January 4, 1876– February 7, 1877 | Buttner was the first to hold the official title of Chief of Police. In 1878, the office was renamed Marshal and Chief of Police. (Source: "Adolph George Buttner: Tucson's first Chief of Police." Arizoniana. Vol. 5, No.2 (1964), Pages 26-31.) |
Isaac E. Brokaw | Chief of Police | February 27, 1877-July 16, 1877 | |
Adolph G. Buttner | Chief of Police | July 16, 1877-January 6, 1879 | |
Isaac E. Brokaw | Chief of Police | January 7, 1879-January 3, 1881 | |
Adolph G. Buttner | Chief of Police | January 4, 1881-May 6, 1883 | |
Nathan B. Appel | Chief of Police (Acting) | May 7, 1883-August 6, 1883 | |
Adolph G. Buttner | Chief of Police | August 6, 1883-January 8, 1884 | |
Matthew R. Johnson | Chief of Police | January 9, 1884-January 5, 1885 | |
Adolph G. Buttner | Chief of Police | January 6, 1885-November 6, 1885 | |
William Roche | Chief of Police | November 7, 1885-May 18, 1893 | |
Lucas C. Estrella | Chief of Police | June 5, 1893-August 7, 1893. | |
John P. Zimmerman | Chief of Police | January 1, 1894-March 5, 1894 | |
Robert E. Paul | Chief of Police | April 5, 1894-December 31, 1896 | For an account of Paul's encounters with Arizona outlaws, see: Arizona: The Last Frontier (1956) Pages 143-144, 154, 202-207, 217-218, and 236. |
Sam W. Finley | Chief of Police | January 1, 1897-June 6, 1898 | |
George W. Oakes | Chief of Police | June 1898-December 31, 1898 | Man of the West: Reminiscences of George Washington Oakes, 1840-1917. |
William H. Taylor | Chief of Police | January 1, 1899-December 31, 1902 | |
Joseph S. Hopley | Chief of Police | January 1, 1903-January 4, 1909 | |
Nabor Pacheco | Chief of Police | January 4, 1909-December 31, 1909 | Pacheco was a former Pima County Sheriff. (1905-1909.) Arizona: Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern. Vol. III, Pages 88-91. |
Patrick Flanagan | Chief of Police | January 1, 1910-May 12, 1910 | |
Frank E. Murphy | Chief of Police | May 28, 1910-December 31, 1910 | |
Judson Arnold | Chief of Police | January 1, 1911-December 31, 1912 | |
John Rolfing | Chief of Police | January 1, 1913-December 31, 1914 | Who’s Who in Arizona Vol. 1, 1913 Pages 801 |
James Cullen | Chief of Police | January 1, 1915-December 31, 1916 | |
Esau D. Mills | Chief of Police | January 1, 1917-February 15, 1917 | |
Frank T. Bailey | Chief of Police | March 5, 1917-April 15, 1920 | |
Joseph S. Holey | Chief of Police | August 9, 1920-December 31, 1920 | |
Dallas S. Ford | Chief of Police | January 1, 1921-December 31, 1924 | |
John E. Dyer | Chief of Police | January 1, 1925-September 6, 1933 | During Dyer's tenure (1930), the Civil Service was introduced and the position ceased to be an elective office. |
Christopher A. Wollard | Chief of Police | October 6, 1933- October 22, 1938 | John Dillnger was captured in Tucson during his tenure. See Dillinger Captured in Tucson. |
Henry L. Hilles | Chief of Police | October 22, 1938-July 3, 1939 | Hilles served concurrently as the Tucson Fire Chief. |
Don J. Hays | Chief of Police | July 3, 1939-August 13, 1940 | |
Harold C. Wheeler | Chief of Police | November 18, 1940-December 11, 1944 | |
Jesse F. Ingle | Chief of Police | January 1, 1945-September 18, 1945 | |
Don J. Hays | Chief of Police | September 22, 1945-January 25, 1957 | |
Paul H. Bohart | Chief of Police | October 10, 1956-June 14, 1957 | |
Bernard L. Garmire | Chief of Police | June 15, 1957-June 1, 1969 | Also Commissioner of Police. |
William J. Gilkinson | Chief of Police | June 1, 1969-June 15, 1969 (Interim) September 30, 1969-July 31, 1981 | |
Peter Ronstadt | Chief of Police | November 1, 1981-February 24, 1992 | |
Elaine S. Hedke | Chief of Police | March 3, 1992-November 14, 1993 | |
Michael R. Ulichny | Interim Chief of Police | November 15, 1993-June 5, 1994 | |
Douglas F. Smith | Chief of Police | June 6, 1994- - 1998 | |
Richard Miranda | Chief of Police | October 6,1998- July 1, 2008 | |
Kermit Miller | Chief of Police | July 1, 2008- May 7, 2009 | Served as Acting Chief of Police. |
Roberto Villasenor | Chief of Police | May 8, 2009-December 2015 | |
Christopher Magnus | Chief of Police | January 2016-December 2021 | Magnus left the position to become the commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. |
Chad Kasmar | Chief of Police | December 2021 - Present |
Sources:
Burchell and Carmen Duarte, J. (1993, November 10). Hedtke leaving police helm. The Arizona Daily Star, p. 1A. Available from NewsBank: Access World News.
Tucson Police Department | Office of the Chief of Police
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