The first semblance of law and order in Atlanta was the selection of a town marshal in 1844. A mere nine years later, the town elected its first “night policeman” to keep watch over the town after hours. By 1858, the force had grown to 20 officers. Then in 1873, the year after Atlanta’s first police officer was killed in the line of duty, the City’s first Board of Police Commissioners chose Chief Thomas Jones to lead the 26-man police force.
Diversity is not only a key virtue of today’s force; the idea dates back to the origins of the department. In 1893, the very first documented woman hired by the Atlanta Police was a social worker named Miss Sue Holloway. She was hired as a Police Matron who worked to help young women and needy families.