WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- This summer the Watertown Police Department will be celebrating its 140th anniversary. The department was established on June 4th, 1869.

In 1943 a landmark was established when Hazel O. Waterman was sworn in as the city's first female police officer and served in the court system until 1963. Our 10th Chief of Police, John Touchette, over-saw the department's move into the new municipal building at Washington Street and Sterling Street in 1965.

In 1976 Tom Dawley and his dog Fox started the police department's first K-9 Unit. That tradition is carried on 33 years later by Officer Mark Sutton and K-9 Ema. In 1979 Cynthia Shelmidine became Watertown's first female road patrol officer. In 1993 the department moved into the Public Safety Building under our 13th Chief, Mike Hennegan.

In 1998 the department acquired our current police patch. A contest was held and all officers were invited to submit designs. The winner was Sergeant Richard Woods design. The patch depicts the city in 1869 and shows the Black River with the paper mills lining the river banks.

Today our current Chief, Joe Goss directs a department of 68 sworn personnel. The department is divided up into three platoons, one detective division and one administrative division. In 2008 the department's patrol vehicles went with a more traditional color, using a black and white paint scheme which replaces the old dark or navy blue color.