The Troopers Are Coming

INTRODUCTION

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, one of the greatest difficulties facing New York State was the establishment of an organized force to police the rural areas that was efficient, honest and free from political influence. For several years, a group of New York State citizens calling themselves the Committee for a State Police had lobbied the states legislators to introduce legislation for a State Constabulary. Finally in 1917, their efforts were rewarded with legislation introduced and passed. The New York State Constabulary was established. The men of the Constabulary were known as “TROOPERS” which is simply a term defined as a mounted policeman. This publication covers the years 1917 to 1943 with emphasis on occurrences and events that took place in Western New York State.

The first twenty-five years were a test of the organization’s, as well as the individual trooper’s strength, dedication and fortitude. Long hours, insufficient manpower and an increasing workload took its toll on many. Almost daily social, natural and economic changes altered the trooper’s daily duties testing his ability to the fullest. Newly enacted laws gave troopers increased authority and enforcement empowerment along with added responsibility. The newly formed troopers also had to contend with two World Wars, mass production of the automobile causing increased traffic problems, a depression, strikes, riots, floods and other natural disasters. 

Four troops were initially established to insure full police coverage of the rural areas with a Troop Headquarters established at Batavia, Onondaga Valley, White Plains and Colonie, N.Y. The procedures and events described herein were typical of a trooper’s workday and could have occurred anywhere in the state. Hopefully the reader will come away with a better understanding of the hardships endured by the early troopers who stood alone.

The contents of this book are as historically accurate, as could be determined through my several years of research. It should be noted that newspapers at the time, more than occasionally misspelled names relying on the “it sounds like system”, when printing their reports.  I hope to provide the reader with a more detailed and slightly different view of the early history of the State Police. The events described are incidents that actually occurred, however, many case arrest dispositions could not be determined due to poor or inadequate record keeping, lost files, destroyed or misfiled documents and human error.

Unless otherwise indicated, the majority of articles in this publication were found in archived Batavia Daily Newspapers located at the Genesee County, N.Y. History Department, Batavia, N.Y.