PAX Centurion - March / April 2015

Page 38 • PAX CENTURION • March/April 2015 617-989-BPPA (2772) 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 Divi- sion. 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 the Annual 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 direc- tion 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 stared on September 9 th , 1919. Lt. Hoppe became the first Commander. The Boston Police Traffic Division By P.O. Robert E. Anthony, BPPA Historian Headquarters was set up at the Cadet Armory on Columbus Ave. A New Station would open in the upper part of Faneuil Hall. The new squad’s motorized equip- ment consisted of one Indian motorcycle with a sidecar, Lt. Hoppe would ride in the sidecar on tours of traffic post from Charlestown to the Cottage Farm Bridge, (see photo above). 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. 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 use 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 patrol- man 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 that 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 St in the Back Bay section of Boston. But on May 22, 1936, the Traffic Division was reacti- vated, and Division 21 was formed with three Lieutenants, eleven Sergeants and 171 Patrolmen.