The 1950's began with Chief Enkemann leading the department, which consisted of 60 officers. Chief Enkemann was the department's third longest serving police chief, serving from November 14, 1946, until July 1, 1960.

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The department has had a history of long serving police chiefs. Chief Thomas O'Brien served for 17 years, making him the longest serving police chief in the department's history. Chiefs Enkemann and Krasny served 14 years and this length of service is unheard of today. Chief Enkemann was well respected within the community and the department. He was a defender of his officers, but was not afraid to take a stance, which the officers may have viewed as unpopular. An example of this could have been his efforts in the release of the convicted murderer of Officer Clifford Stang, or the hiring of one of our first black officers, Clayton Collins.

Ann Arbor's First Black Officer

On May 18, 1950, Albert Wheeler, a local black activist, sent a letter to the police commission asking that they hire a “Negro” for employment within the police department. This letter was signed by a number of Ann Arbor residents.

In the letter, Wheeler stated the “employment of a Negro police officer by the City of Ann Arbor would be a very distinct advantage to the democratic growth of the whole community and it would be a very special incentive to Negro youths and adults.”

The letter list a number of other points and closed by stating, “We sincerely hope that you will accept this letter as both an honest effort on the part of a representative group of Negroes, to present our common point of view in this matter to the commission and also as an effort to bring about this democratic development as rapidly as possible.”

In return, the commission sent a letter to Mr. Wheeler stating, “As you are aware, the responsibility of this commission is to select from the candidates who present themselves, those who appear to have the most promise as potential police officers for the protection of the citizens of Ann Arbor. We assure you that our selection of men for the department has been, and will be, solely on the basis of merit and fitness.”

While the hiring of a black officer was not immediate, Clayton Collins, was hired by the commission on September 29, 1950 and worked for the department until late 1955. This hiring was certainly a first step for the department, when it came to the issue of hiring minorities. I interviewed Officer Collins in his Ann Arbor apartment in 1999 and was surprised to learn how little racism he encountered in the department and city.

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Officer Collins told me he was asked to apply to the department by Albert Wheeler (Wheeler would later become mayor). He stated Wheeler was always trying to get blacks to apply for positions which they had historically been barred. Officer Collins thought about it and finally applied. The department hired him and thus he became the first black officer in the city's history. (I should note that in Officer Camp's report, he stated a black man named Thomas Blackburn was an officer with the department at the turn of the century. Officer Collins had heard about Blackburn and thought he was half-Indian. In any event Officer Collins was the first black officer in the modern era.)

I was surprised to find that Officer Collins encountered very little racism, not only within the department, but within the city. Almost all of the officers were very accepting of him and none made a negative comment to him. At worst, some of the officers were distant to him. He stated his experience as an Ann Arbor Officer was very positive and enjoyable. He said Ann Arbor was a wonderful place in the 1950's.

Officer Collins left the department in 1955. He stated there was a lot of “grumbling” going on and attributed this to the officers attempting to start a police officer's association. He believed command thought this would diminish their power and were against it. He decided he needed to “move on” while he was still young enough to enter another field.

I have found the department to be very progressive when it came to the issue of hiring minorities and women. While one could argue that it took the department 76 years to hire its first black officer, this was still a progressive step at the time. When Officer Collins was hired in 1950, it was years before the civil rights movement.

During the beginning of the 1950's, officers became more vocal about their lack of pay, as did Chief Enkemann. The officers received no overtime pay and no extra pay for court duties. The officers worked a standard 50 hour work week and no additional pay was given for working over 40 hours, as officers were considered salaried employees. Officers also had to pay for their own uniforms and upkeep. It was not until the late 1950's that the officers received a uniform allowance, receiving $10 per month.

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Chief Enkemann implored the city council to raise the wages of the officers due to losing them to the private sector. After much debate, the city council devised a plan that would have paid the officers $1.50 a hour, per hour of overtime worked. Keep in mind that this was $1.50 a hour! Chief Enkemann stated that this was simply not enough to keep good officers and city council reacted with a 5% wage increase for the officers. While this was viewed only as a partial solution, it was still welcomed by the officers. This raise boosted the officers' pay from $3198 per year to $3357, an increase of $159.

Murder in Ann Arbor

While Ann Arbor had a low crime rate in the 1950's, a number of murders did occur. On August 12, 1950, Stanford Thompson was arrested for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Marjorie Williams. Thompson had been staying at the Ann Arbor Hotel after splitting up with Williams. On the night of the murder, he returned to her residence at 705 N. Fourth Ave., with a friend of theirs. After a night of riding around, and presumed drinking, they became involved in an argument. After dropping off both Williams and their friend, Thompson went back to his hotel and retrieved his .32 caliber automatic, then returned to Williams' residence.

After entering, Williams began making coffee for the two of them and at that point Thompson withdrew his revolver and shot her. Williams fled to a bathroom where Thompson continued to shoot at her and it was at this point that she was fatally hit and died.

Thompson fled the residence and confided to a friend as to what had happened. This friend notified the police and Thompson was arrested on a Greyhound bus, bound for Toledo. Thompson confessed to the crime and told detectives that after the shooting he walked south from the residence and hid the gun under a rock behind the McDonald's Ice Cream Company, at 1039 S. Main. An autopsy revealed Williams died from a single gunshot wound to the lung. She was 35 years old when she was murdered.

Another murder occurred on February 26, 1951, when Anita Valasquez was found dead in her apartment at 118 Catherine Street, with her throat slashed. The investigation immediately began to focus on her husband, Marcelo and his whereabouts. It was found that he had fled the state and detectives began a nationwide manhunt for him. A cousin of Valasquez, informed the Austin Texas Police Department of his location and they arrested him shortly thereafter.

Austin Police Detectives questioned Valasquez about the murder and he stated that he might have “cut his wife” during a violent argument. When asked if he killed her, he stated “I guess so.”

Upon his return to Ann Arbor his story had changed. He stated he had gone to his wife's apartment and had found her dead. He feared being blamed so he fled Ann Arbor. Eventually, Valasquez was found guilty of first degree murder.