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History of Dover PD | Dover's Past Chiefs | "In the Line of Duty" |
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Historical Photos | Community Events |
In 1925 J. Wallace Woodford, President of City Council, appointed E.I. Lane as the first
Chief of Police for the City of Dover at a salary of $25.00 per week. In 1929 James Selvy was appointed Chief of Police and served until 1934 when
Maurice B. Farr was appointed Chief. At that time the department was located in two rooms in the basement of City Hall (which was located where the Wesley Educational building is currently). In 1936 the Department had seven full-time officers.
In 1948 Clifford Artis was appointed Chief but, due to health problems, resigned and
James E. Turner Sr., a retired Major from the Delaware State Police, was appointed to the position of Chief of Police.
On July 1, 1949 the Department was relocated to 12 King St. which had been the private residence of Dr. Cecil
Harbordt. There were 12 officers assigned to the Department. In 1950 a new radio system was installed replacing the old system which had been operated via remote control from the basement in City Hall.
There were a number of changes that Chief Turner initiated including: A complete new records system; fingerprinting and photographing for all criminal arrests; establishment of in-service training schools with instructors including FBI staff; utilization of the Delaware State Police and Wilmington Bureau of Police Training Academy's for all recruits; and the establishment of the Criminal Investigation and Identification Division.
In 1956 the Department was relocated to New St. & Williams St. and had 18 police officers and eight civilians.
In 1965 personnel were first assigned to attend training at out-of-state institutions including Northwestern University, the University of Maryland, and the FBI National Academy.
In November 30, 1967 Chief Turner retired and William L. Spence, Jr. was appointed Chief. In 1968 there were 24 officers, 5 civilians, and a budget of $42,154.00. The Annual Report to Council for 1968 reported a total of 3,985 calls for service, 1,237 traffic arrests, 1,206 criminal arrests, 735 traffic accidents, and 2,744 city ordinance summonses issued.
In January 1969 there were 16,000 residents in Dover's nine square-mile area which was protected by 38 officers and 7 civilians.
In March 1979 Joe A. Klenoski was appointed Chief of Police. On November 19, 1982 the building was rededicated and named the James E. Turner, Sr. Building. By 1988 there were 60 officers and 18 civilians employed by the Department.
In May 1988 James L. Hutchison was appointed Chief. During his tenure, Chief Hutchison concentrated on creating a proactive police department focusing on Community Policing, and adding bicycle and K-9 patrols. Personnel was increased to 77 officers and 19 civilians, and the Department took steps toward National Accreditation. Recognizing the need for an expanded facility, Chief Hutchison initiated steps toward a referendum which was unfortunately defeated.
In December 1992, J. Richard Smith was appointed Chief. Continuing Chief Hutchison's efforts toward a new police station, a second referendum was presented to the taxpayers and was approved on May 17, 1994. This expansion project increased the size of the building from 17,000 square feet to a total of 49,000 square feet at a cost of $4.5 million dollars. Chief Smith increased the authorized strength to 81 officers and, utilizing grant funding sources, was able to purchase a tremendous
amount of equipment for officers to utilize in their war on crime.
In June 1997 Keith I. Faulkner was appointed as Chief of Police. For the year ended 1997 there were 81 officers, 26 civilians, 5 volunteers, and a budget of $7,040,000. The Annual Report to Council for 1997 reported a total of 24,912 calls for service, 11,502 traffic arrests, 3,842 criminal arrests, 2,277 traffic accidents, and 10,386 city ordinance summonses issued.
The new police station contains many improvements and additional features including:
 | A holding facility (cells) that meet accreditation and federal guidelines including separate holding facilities for men, women, and juveniles. |
| An indoor firing range. Although the old facility was built with a range, the range had been converted into a locker room. |
| A facility that is handicapped accessible |
| A separate and secure Communications Center |
| Locker rooms for men and women. The old facility had a men's locker room and a make-shift women's locker room. |
| A Public Assembly Room that can seat 125 people. The old facility had no meeting space for the public or the police. Now there are several conference and training rooms that are designed for use by police officers meeting with community groups. |
| Storage space for equipment. In the old facility most of the closets had been converted into offices and there was no room for storage. |
| A processing area where crime scene material can be brought back to the station for evidence processing. |
| A more secured environment for the handling of prisoners. In the old facility some prisoners were handcuffed to stairwells and were transferred through the station without proper security. |
| A facility that meets the current fire code for the City of Dover. The old facility only had one stairway to the second floor. If a fire started in the stairway area, people upstairs would have had to jump off the roof to escape. The new facility also has a sprinkler system. |
| The Records Unit has a vault for the crime reports which are classified and stored according to state and federal guidelines. In the old facility this was accomplished by storing boxes of paperwork in closets from the floor to the ceiling. |
| Offices for personnel to work. In the old facility personnel were assigned to work in converted closets due to a lack of work space. |
On March 2, 2001, Chief Keith I. Faulkner retired from the City of Dover after serving the citizens of our city for over 28 years. With his retirement, he recommended without hesitation or reservation, Major Jeffrey Horvath as his successor. Major Horvath was sworn in as Chief of Police by the Honorable Mayor of the City of Dover, Mayor James L. Hutchison. Chief Jeffrey Horvath became the eleventh Chief of Police for the City of Dover Police Department. He also became the youngest Chief of Police, a title held previously by Chief J. Richard Smith (1992 – 1997).
Chief Horvath’s resolve was immediately tested by a series of events. On March 9, 2001 Dover Police Department officers responded to a call for assistance from a Delaware State Trooper. A Trooper had stopped a subject suspected of DUI offense. The trooper agreed to transport a passenger in the suspect’s vehicle to his residence within the City of Dover. The passenger started to assault the suspect while in the trooper’s vehicle. The call for assistance went out and members of the Dover Police Department responded. The passenger resisted arrest and was physically taken into custody by the officers. The passenger subsequently died while in police custody from a drug overdose.
A major investigation was immediately launched into the incident, not only by Dover Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit but also by the Delaware State Police, the Attorney Generals Office and the NAACP. The officers involved were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, but it was an extremely difficult time for the officers, the department and the citizens of the City of Dover.
On March 24, 2001 the most dreaded call any police officer can receive occurred. Chief Horvath was notified a member of Dover Police Department, Pfc. David Spicer had been shot in the line of duty. Pfc. Spicer along with Probation and Parole Officer Doug Watts, were working the Safe Streets Program within the City of Dover. They were attempting to affect an arrest of a suspect for a drug transaction. During a brief foot pursuit, the suspect stopped turned and fired upon Pfc. Spicer striking him several times. Probation and Parole Officer Watts returned fire at the suspect, as did Pfc. Spicer. Probation and Parole Officer Watts has been credited with saving Pfc. Spicer’s life. The suspect was apprehended after an extensive manhunt. Pfc. Spicer survived his wounds but had a long recuperation period. Through all of these events Chief Horvath stood by his officers in an unwavering stance. He maintained the morale and dedication of the Dover Police Department in the truest sense of the word.
During September 2001, Chief Horvath and his staff were able to obtain permission from the Mayor and City Council to create and promote two (2) additional Sergeant positions and three (3) new Corporal positions for a total of seven (7) officers being promoted. This was quite a large increase in rank all at one time. Such an increase has never been seen in the history of Dover Police Department before. This was quite an achievement for our Chief of Police and his staff.
May 22, 2002 was a fantastic day for the Dover Police Department and Chief Horvath; Pfc. David Spicer was medically cleared by his doctor to return to full duty. His recovery was approximately fourteen (14) months in duration and included many long days of hard, intensive, physical therapy and dedication on PFC Spicer’s part. His determination to recover from his injuries and to return to full duty as a police officer for the City of Dover Police Department gave him the strength to accomplish this goal. His family and many friends assisted him. Pfc. Spicer was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Unit.
In December 2002, inspectors from CALEA returned to Dover Police Department for our first re-accreditation. The three inspectors were from different departments around the country. They spent three days inspecting every aspect of the department. The inspectors graded the department very high in our work following CALEA guidelines.
During January 2003, Chief Horvath was able to re-create a position which had been lost approximately 5 years previous. This position held the rank of Lieutenant and was in charge of the Special Enforcement Unit. With the establishment of this newly created position, three (3) officers received promotions: (1) Lieutenant, (1) Sergeant and (1) Corporal. The functions of the Special Enforcement Unit, which is comprised of the Motorcycle Unit, Community Policing Unit, Parking Enforcement Unit and Animal Control Unit, were transferred from the Patrol Unit Commander to the newly created Special Enforcement Unit Commander.
During September 2003, Chief Horvath was able to hire four additional officers bringing the authorized strength of the department to 85. This addition to the force resulted directly from Federal Funding in the form of a COPS Grant.
August 5, 2004 was another milestone in the history of the Dover Police Department.. On this date, the department retired the badges which have been worn by members of the Dover Police Department for over 30 years. The new shield project was assigned to Captain Ray Sammons and after approximately 1 ½ years a design was approved. The new shield is larger than the old badge, is oval in shape and has a color City of Dover seal in the center.
September 9, 2004 the department received grant funding from the COPS office to enable the department to place two officers into our local schools. This endeavor has been in the planning phase for some time. With this funding, one officer was assigned to Dover High School while the second officer was assigned to Central Middle School. The Dover Police Department’s first SRO officers were PFC Keith Hester and PFC Danny Ranger. With this grant funding, the size of Dover Police Department sworn members increased from 85 officers to a total of 87 officers.
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