The
Eastham
Police
Department
had
its
official
beginning
in
the
year
1954.
The
Town
of
Eastham
appointed
Winnie
Knowles
as
its
Civil
Defense
Warden
and
issued
him
a
police
appointment
as
well
in
1938.
The
Town
had
no
official
police
department
but
operated
under the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Maurice Wiley at the time. In 1946 the Town voted
to compensate Winnie Knowles for the hours he put in as a police officer at the rate of .40 cents
per hour. In 1948 the Board of Selectmen decided to appoint Winnie Knowles as the Deputy
Chief of Police and provide him with one part time on call officer named Robert Deschamps. In
1952 the department commenced its first patrol from May 30 to September 15 as well as
Halloween. This patrol generally was conducted between 6 P.M. and 2 A.M.. The operating
budget was $2,557.59. In 1953 the Town purchased its first two way radio that was installed in the
Chief's personal car as the Town had no police vehicle. Dispatching occurred through the Orleans
Police Department.
In
1954
an
article
was
placed
on
the
Town
Meeting
Warrant
to
accept
the
provisions
of
Massachusetts
General
Law
Chapter
41
Section
97
to
officially
establish
the
police
department.
There
was
also
an
article
to
purchase
the
Town
of
Eastham's
first police cruiser for $1,800.. The police department articles were approved and the police
department was opened in an office in the basement of the town hall. Winnie Knowles became the
first Chief of Police for the Town of Eastham. In 1958 Jerry Emond was appointed to the police
department as a special police officer. He would later be hired full time in 1963, then appointed the
town's first sergeant in 1966 and ultimately appointed Chief of Police upon the retirement of Chief
Knowles (also known as the gray ghost) in 1968. The police department moved its headquarters to
the Old Fire Station which is in between the Town Hall and the current Fire Station. The
department compliment now stood at 5 full time members. Additional officers were appointed to
the department over the ensuing years including Wynn Deschamps the grandson of the first Chief.
Wynn Deschamps retired from the department in 1995 as a sergeant. In 1973 Donald Watson was
appointed to the department. In 1980 Donald Watson was promoted to the rank of sergeant and
later the first person to hold the rank of lieutenant and then was appointed the third Chief of Police
in 1988 upon the retirement of Chief Jerry Emond. A building committee was formed in 1988 and
plans were prepared for the construction of the town's first new police headquarters building. The
project was designed by the architectural firm of John Travers Assoc. of W.
Newton, MA. The
article passed Town meeting and was constructed at a cost of 1.5 million dollars including
equipment. The department has grown to sixteen full time police officers, one operations
supervisor and a full time
communications center with five full
time telecommunicators. The
department also has 12 year round part
time police officers and hires 5 or more
summer full time officers.
The information contained in this
history was partially
In
1954
an
article
was
placed
on
the
Town
Meeting
Warrant
to
accept
the
provisions
of
Massachusetts
General
Law
Chapter
41
Section
97
to
officially
establish
the
police
department.
There
was
also
an
article
to
purchase
the
Town
of
Eastham's
first police cruiser for $1,800.. The police department articles were approved and the police
department was opened in an office in the basement of the town hall. Winnie Knowles became the
first Chief of Police for the Town of Eastham. In 1958 Jerry Emond was appointed to the police
department as a special police officer. He would later be hired full time in 1963, then appointed the
town's first sergeant in 1966 and ultimately appointed Chief of Police upon the retirement of Chief
Knowles (also known as the gray ghost) in 1968. The police department moved its headquarters to
the Old Fire Station which is in between the Town Hall and the current Fire Station. The
department compliment now stood at 5 full time members. Additional officers were appointed to
the department over the ensuing years including Wynn Deschamps the grandson of the first Chief.
Wynn Deschamps retired from the department in 1995 as a sergeant. In 1973 Donald Watson was
appointed to the department. In 1980 Donald Watson was promoted to the rank of sergeant and
later the first person to hold the rank of lieutenant and then was appointed the third Chief of Police
in 1988 upon the retirement of Chief Jerry Emond. A building committee was formed in 1988 and
plans were prepared for the construction of the town's first new police headquarters building. The
project was designed by the architectural firm of John Travers Assoc. of W.
Newton, MA. The
article passed Town meeting and was constructed at a cost of 1.5 million dollars including
equipment. The department has grown to sixteen full time police officers, one operations
supervisor and a full time
communications center with five full
time telecommunicators. The
department also has 12 year round part
time police officers and hires 5 or more
summer full time officers.