Transportation

A Pensacola Police Officer

For many years, Pensacola Police Officers’ only form of transportation was walking. Of course, horses and buggies existed, but the belief was that the officers could be more accessible and effective on foot. Officers walked to work, stood for 12 hours, and walked home.

Pensacola Officer on horseback

After the Civil War, the police department purchased a few horses, which allowed officers to get from one location to another more quickly. The new addition also created an additional level in rank – mounted officer, which fit above patrolman and turnkey.

Captain Frank Wilde

Around 1900, the police department purchased a police buggy for the captain of the shift to ride in.

A Pensacola Police Selden Wagon in 1908

When officers had the need to transport prisoners, whether recently arrested or transporting from one location to another, the Selden Wagon was used.

Motorcycle Officer German Cooper, 1938

They had taken the world by storm! Everyone was talking about the new, 2-wheeled machines called motorcycles. In 1912, against the wishes of a lot of Pensacola citizens, the police department took the plunge and purchased one. It was so successful at efficiency that the department never looked back!

The First Pensacola Police Car, driven by the Chief of Police. Mayor Greenhut is the man in the rear seat on the right.

If there was one machine that revolutionized transportation, it was, of course, the automobile. In 1913, the city fathers agreed to purchase a used Model-T, “to be shared by the police department and the mayor.”

Seven new 1956 Ford Fairlane cars

New cruisers in 1958. They were yellow and black

1962 Fairlanes

Officer Jim Simmons and a 1967 Ford Galaxy

Motorcycle officers in front of the police station at 40 S. Alcaniz in the 1970s

An early 1970s training Ford Galaxy

In the mid 1970s, the police department changed the paint scheme to align with the country’s bicentennial celebration

The PPDs first theme car, “Blinky” was a city favorite!

A 1983 Cushman 3-wheeler used by the downtown officer

Officers Tom Bacon and Wayland Mann riding in a new, 1985 Dodge Diplomat

1989 Ford Crown Victoria in the front parking lot of the police station at 711 N. Hayne Street

Four Motorcycle Officers preparing to lead an event on their Harleys

In 1990, the Pensacola Police Department placed officers in elementary schools to teach the DARE program. Some of the officers were issued Mustangs to drive

The Pensacola Police Crime Scene portable laboratory

The Pensacola Police Boat Team with the crew, Officer Jim Andrews, Lt. Glen Darling, and Officer Robert Bell

In the 1990s, the paint scheme was again changed. Here is a Crown Vic, the standard vehicle for police cruisers for many years.

When, in the early 2000s, many police departments in the country went “retro” and had their cars painted black and white, the Pensacola Police Department followed suit. However, the department stuck with the Crown Vic.

The department’s first SUV – a Crime Scene vehicle.

The first police bicycle unit was begun in New York City under Theodore Roosevelt. Here is Sgt Mike Simmons riding a PPD bicycle, an effective form of patrol.

The new “go to” cruiser in 2014 was the Chevy Tahoe

“Pensacola’s Finest!” Sgt. Danny Lawrence and the elite Motorcycle Unit, posing with their BMWs.

The new, Pensacola Unique cruiser, the Blue Angel Tahoe!