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City of Greenville Police Department Records, 1962-1970, 2004-2005

(Manuscript Collection #1076)

Descriptive Summary Click here to collapse or expand the contents in this section of the finding aid

Title: City of Greenville Police Department Records
Creator: City of Greenville, NC Police Department.
Repository: ECU Manuscript Collection
Languages: English
Abstract: Records (1961-2004) including photographic slides & compact discs illustrating City of Greenville Police Department public relations, detective squad, and traffic control operations, including inspections, personnel, court and trail procedures, training programs, including first aid training, bomb disposal, and riot training; also including a letter from Stuart Savage, Senior Writer, The Daily Reflector; to Sergeant Joe Friday & 2 compact discs containing reproductions of black and white and color slides of police operations.
Extent: 0.25 Cubic feet, 1 box 27 items, photographic slides

Administrative Information Click here to collapse or expand the contents in this section of the finding aid

Accessions Information

August 4, 2006, 2 items, 0.25 cubic feet; Records (1961-1970, 2004) of photographic slides illustrating police operations, including inspections, personnel, court and trial procedures, training programs, including first aid training, riot training, etc.; letter to Stuart Savage, Senior Writer, The Daily Reflector; also 2 compact discs containing 197 digital images (jpegs) of the slides. Approx 480 Black & White and Color slides. Donor: Joe David Friday, Sgt., Investigations Division, Greenville Police Department

Access Restrictions

No restrictions

Copyright Notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Preferred Citation

City of Greenville Police Department Records (#1076), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Acquisition Information

  • Gift of Joe David Friday, Sgt., Investigations Division, Greenville Police Department

Processing Information

  • Encoded by Mark Custer, January 4, 2008

  • Processed by Kelly Hardy, April 2007 Dale Sauter 2008


Biographical / Historical Note Click here to collapse or expand the contents in this section of the finding aid

The City of Greenville Police Department is a nationally accredited law enforcement agency. Due to lack of records, a complete history of the department is unavailable. The following timeline offers what details are known from local newspaper records.

Source: Roger Kammerer. For more details, please see Kammerer’s complete article, “A History of the Greenville Police Department” in the January 23rd –February 6th, 2008, edition of Greenville Times. Back issues of Greenville Times can be found in Joyner Library’s North Carolina Collection.

May 1832 Town Constable, Magistrate of Police, and Town Marshall are all found in the current published Greenville Town Ordinances. All three positions have varying responsibilities and duties.
1869 S. Humphrey (a black man) is noted as Town Constable in a list of Greenville town officers.
May 1872 Capt. David H. Dill is elected as Town Constable.
1881 Alex Speight is elected as Chief of Police.
1870 In the current census, W. L. Cherry is listed as Town Constable.
may 1882 Thomas R. Moore is elected Chief of Police. J. B. Johnson is elected Assistant Policeman.
1883 Alex Speight is re-elected as Chief of Police.
September 1885 James Thomas Smith, a Civil War veteran, is elected Chief of Police. Thomas R. Moore is elected Assistant Policeman.
1887 Tilman Brown Cherry and Alex Speight are elected as City Policemen. Later that year, James Kinion is named Night Policeman and Night Watchman.
1888 T. B. Cherry and Henry C. McGowan become Town Policemen.
May 1889 James T. Smith and Thomas R. Moore are rehired.
May 1891 J. T. Smith is re-elected Chief of Police, Thomas R. Moore is elected Assistant Policeman and John Little Daniel is elected Night Policeman. Other Night Watchmen are J. L. Langley and Robert Greene, Sr.
October 1892 The City Board makes it the duty of Thomas R. Moore, Assistant Policeman, to collect city taxes.
May 1894 William Blount James is elected Chief of Police.
April 1895 William Blount James resigns as Chief of Police.
May 1895 James W. Perkins is elected Chief of Police. Fred Cox is elected Assistant Policeman.
November 1895 James W. Perkins is fired after being accused of frequently being absent from town without permission and neglect of duty. After defending himself at the next City Council meeting, Perkins is re-elected by the City Board.
May 1896 J. W. Murphy is elected Night Policeman. It is noted that his duty is to ring the hours of the night on the town bell. It is stipulated later that year that “Night Police go on duty at 7:00 p.m. until light the next morning.”
March 1897 James W. Perkins resigns as Chief of Police.
May 1897 Fred Cox, a whiskey distiller, is elected Chief of Police. Moses King (a black man), owner of local meat market, is elected Assistant Policeman.
January 1900 William H. McGowan is named Night Policeman. He later becomes Assistant Policeman, resigning from this position in January 1903, and again later becomes Night Policeman. John Little Daniel and William Henry Smith are also listed as being on the police force the same year.
October 1904 Edgar Buck resigns as Night Policeman, and John S. Congleton is elected as his succesor.
1905 George A. Clark joins the police force as one of two policemen, the other being on night duty.
1909 The Greenville Municipal Building is built on Fifth Street near, Cotanche Street. The Mayor’s office serves as a small arsenal.
October 1911 Greenville reports having “mounted police.” Police Chief George A. Clark makes his rounds on a bicycle.
1915 J. T. Smith is re-elected Chief of Police and holds the office until his death in August 1918.
Septemeber 1918 W. L. Brewer is named the next Chief of Police. Before taking this position, he had previously served as the Chief of Police in nearby Bethel for over three years.
1919 Six men are listed as being on the force. They are W. L. Brewer, J. L. Whichard, E. S. Hobgood, A. C. Jackson, W. L. Patrick and Robert Lee Munford.
June 1920 Lester Jones is elected Chief of Police, ex-Chief W.L. Brewer J. L. Whichard are named Assistant Chiefs.
1924 The City of Greenville purchases two motorcycles. Chief of Police Lester Jones and J. L. Nobles serve as Motorcycle Officers.
1925 A Fingerprinting Department is established within the force, later being described as one of the best in the state. H. E. Wooten, coming from New Bern, joins the force and serves as Assistant Police Chief.
1931 George A. Clark becomes Chief of Police.
1939 Eleven members are listed as being on the force. They are George A. Clark, Chief, J. L. Whichard, Assistant Chief, H. B. Drum, L. D. Page, W. L. Brewer, H. E. Wooten, R. T. Rogerson, R. D. House, E. J. Dees, J. R. Mobley and S. B. Dorsey, Head of Fingerprinting Department and Police Photographer.

Description Click here to collapse or expand the contents in this section of the finding aid

The collection consists of 470 slides and two compact discs (copies of slides) of images that document various activities of City of Greenville, North Carolina Police Department. These activities include public relations, riot training, bomb disposal, civil defense, traffic control, inspections, trial and court procedures, training programs and first aid procedures. The material also includes images of (apparently staged) car accidents and fires, as well as group and single photographs of police officers. Also included in folder 1076.1 is a brief email sent in 2004 from Stuart Savage, Senior Writer, Daily Reflector to the donor of the collection. In the message, Savage identifies several Civil Defense officers contained in a slide found in sleeve 1076.1.a.09.

Container List Click here to collapse or expand the contents in this section of the finding aid

  • Box 1#1076.1
    • Folder a#1076.1.a
      Photographic Slides
      • Photographic Slides (Nov. 1961) of City of Greenville Police Department traffic procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #1)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb.1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers & administrators. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #2)
      • Photographic Slides (Nov. 1961-Nov.1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers & administrators. 9 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #3)
      • Photographic Slides (Nov. 1961) of City of Greenville Police Department officers illustrating traffic accidents and safety procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #4)
      • Photographic Slides (Nov. 1961-Feb. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers illustrating traffic accidents and safety procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #5)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - April 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers illustrating traffic accidents and safety procedures & public relations events. 19 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #6)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - Dec. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department public relations activities. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #7)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department public relations activities. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #8)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - Mar. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department Detective Division & public relations activities. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #9)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - Dec. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department Detective Division demonstrating patrol procedures, the Police School, Kinston, NC & public relations activities. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #10)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department Detective Division demonstrating patrol & traffic procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #11)
      • Photographic Slides (Feb. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department Detective Division demonstrating patrol procedures, welfare programs, news gathering, "pea shooters" & public relations activities. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #12)
      • 1 letter from Stewart Savage, Senior Writer, The Daily Reflector. 2004. Includes photocopy of photograph of men (some identified) wearing Civil Defense helmets.  (item #13)
    • Folder b#1076.1.b
      Photographic Slides
      • Photographic Slides (Oct. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department Detective Division demonstrating investigative procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #1)
      • Photographic Slides (Oct. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating riot control procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #2)
      • Photographic Slides (Oct. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating riot control procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #3)
      • Photographic Slides (Oct. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating riot control procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #4)
      • Photographic Slides (Oct. - Nov. 1962) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating riot control procedures. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #5)
      • Photographic Slides (Oct. - Nov. 1962; Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating riot control procedures; seized weapons, chemicals, equipment. 12 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #6)
      • Photographic Slides (Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers exhibiting seized weapons, chemicals, equipment. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #7)
      • Photographic Slides (Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating bomb disposal techniques. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #8)
      • Photographic Slides (Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating bomb disposal techniques. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #9)
      • Photographic Slides (April 1963; Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating bomb disposal techniques & training to extinguish automobile fires. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #10)
      • Photographic Slides (April 1963; Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating bomb disposal techniques & training to extinguish automobile fires. 20 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #11)
      • Photographic Slides (April 1963; Jan. 1970) of City of Greenville Police Department officers demonstrating bomb disposal techniques & training to extinguish automobile fires. 8 slides. 1 slide protector sheet.  (item #12)
    • Folder c#1076.1.c
      Compact discs containing digital copies of slides. 2 discs. 197 digital images, 1961-1970; black and white and color thumbnail images printed from compact discs.

Online access to this finding aid is supported with funds created through the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). These funds come through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which is administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. This grant is part of the North Carolina ECHO, Exploring Cultural Heritage Online, Digitization Grant Program.

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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Special Collections Division, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. The materials described here are physically available in our reading room. None of the original documents in this collection are digitally available online at this time.
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