PAX Centurion - Spring 2019

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • Spring 2019 • Page 43 O n December 15, 1919 a Group of Police Officers stood in Front of Governor Calvin Coolidge for Review at the Annual Boston Police Parade. They were dressed in various uniforms and bore no resemblance of what would become the First Boston Police Traffic Squad. This was the beginning of our Traffic Division. There was a Lieutenant, three sergeants and 128 officers assigned to the unit. The unit was started on November 28, 1919 and this was the first time they assembled in theAnnual Parade, some wore overcoats, called a Horse Blanket, some wore Dress Coats, Blues and a few wore the Famous Bobby Helmets. Before they started their assignments they would stand in intersections watching the traffic direction and learn from members of the First Motor Corps of the Massachusetts State Guard. The Guard was taught by Boston Police Lieutenant Bernard J. Hoppe, he handled traffic since a few days after the police strike started on September 9 th , 1919. Lt. Hoppe became the first Commander. Headquarters was set up at the Cadet Armory on Columbus Ave. ANew Station would later open in the upper part of Faneuil Hall. The new squad’s motorized equipment consisted of one Indian motorcycle with a sidecar, Lt. Hoppe would ride in the sidecar on tours of traffic posts from Charlestown to the Cottage Farm Bridge, (see photo below). There was a brief period of time in 1895 when Boston had a 30- man “Street Squad” to handle just traffic control at various Divisions; back then, the major problem was traffic congestion involving horses, wagons, and trolley cars! Boston Police Traffic Division By Robert E. Anthony, BPPA Historian From 1932-1936, the department was without a traffic squad. At the time of the Police Strike, traffic control was the responsibility of each division. Lt. Hoppe’s squad proved the value of special experience in this job. The year was 1924 and you could count 300 vehicles an hour going through various intersections of Boston. Semaphores (a signaling device or Flags for sending information over distances) were used to guide motorist and there was a need for automatic equipment and signal light devices. In 1925, the first traffic stand was built by a patrolman with discarded lumber left at a building site, it was equipped with an umbrella to protect the officer from the weather. The Department saw a need for these Traffic Boxes and so they purchased 15 of them by the end of the year. The Traffic Squad was disbanded as a separate entity in 1932, at the time it had 275 men assigned to two traffic stations, one on Milk Street and the other at St. Botolph Street in the Back Bay section of Boston. But on May 22, 1936, the Traffic Division was reactivated, and Division 21 was formed with three Lieutenants, eleven Sergeants and 171 Patrolmen. In 1965, the Traffic Division came under the Command of Deputy Superintendent James L. Buchanan, one Captain, four Lieutenants, 15 Sergeants and 171 Patrolmen. Nineteen men were assigned to motorcycles, 90 handled traffic duties at various locations, 30 are assigned to “tagging duty”, 10 are assigned to Station house duties and 25 work the Night Shift. Six cruisers are used by the sergeants in traffic control. In 1964, a total of 593,350 tickets (at the time this figure was three times the national average for cities the size of Boston!) were issued by Boston Police Officers. Deputy Superintendent James J. Hinchey was a Policeman for 42 years, 18 of those years in The Traffic Division. He took control of the Unit in 1943 and under his command and his recommendation he redesigned the One- way streets and the general Pattern of traffic in the City. His orders to his men were “ Be neat, courteous and keep your intersections open at all times. ” The Traffic unit would be disbanded for good in the Early 1970’s under Mayor KevinWhite’s leadership. Boston Police Traffic officers escorting John F. Kennedy political parade in 1960.