The first layoffs occurred very quickly for the young department when it was dismissed in its entirety on April 14, 1875. It's believed this was due to the financial condition of the city. Shortly thereafter, two officers were hired back and these two constituted the force until one additional officer was hired in October of 1875.

In 1878 the wages for the officers were $500 a year and $600 a year for the marshal. In 1884, the wages were raised to $720 a year for the officers and $780 for the marshal. During that year council ordered a telephone placed in the marshal's office and home, so he could be reached 24 hours a day. In 1887 the department was scheduled to add another officer, but his intended salary was used for streetlights. The marshal's office was in the city offices, which were located in the 200 block of N. Fourth Avenue. The offices remained there until 1907, when city hall was constructed in the 200 block of E. Huron.

In May of 1894, two officers were added to the department for the purpose of patrolling the State Street business district during the night and downtown. In June of that year, the department made eight arrests. Four of these were for drunkenness and four were for ordinances violations. For the year of 1895, 211 arrests were made and the police budget was $3,401.80.

At the turn of the century, the department consisted of the marshal and four officers. While the department was still small, the chief decided to promote an officer to sergeant in 1901. Officer Harris Ball was appointed and he became the first sergeant in the department's history.

From 1871 to 1906, there were four Ann Arbor Police Officers shot in the line of duty. None of these officers died of their wounds. I could find little about these shootings, with the exception of the shooting of Marshal Charles Masten, which occurred in 1906. Marshal Masten was shot when he went to a northside residence to make an arrest. During the attempted arrest, the suspect shot Marshall Masten in the abdomen with a shotgun. The suspect escaped and the city council offered a $500 reward for his capture. It is unknown if the suspect was ever captured, but when Officer Camp wrote his report in 1940, Marshal Masten was still alive carrying birdshot in his stomach from the shooting.

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Officer Clayton Collins was thought to be the first black Ann Arbor Officer when he was hired in 1950. However, according to Officer Camp's report, a black officer named Thomas Blackburn, was hired in 1907. I discovered a photo of Officer Blackburn and it does not appear that he was black. Officer Blackburn was with the department for ten years and it is open for debate if he or Officer Collins was the first black officer.