The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1950-01-19
Police Department
Changes Announced

AraInc Dept. ORt. JOhn DIVINE
Takes Over Day Shift; Edward
Kuhlman Made Act. Sgt; -Four
New Patrolmen Appointed.
Police Commissioner NJ. E. Ell
linger lat press conference held on
Saturday afternoon, announced sew
eral changes in the Hagerstown Pc
lice Department.
Pointing out that the traffic stu
alton in HagerstoWn is creating
more of problem every day, the
Commissioner announced that the
Board Of Public Works had deemed
it advisable to create a new office
known as traffic sergeant, and that
Sgt. Harold B. Kiser has been as
signed to this office, effective Feb
ruary l. He also stated that Pa
trolman Edward w. Huffman has
been appointed acting sergeant to
fill the vacancy created by the new
appointment Of Sergeant Kiser
Sgt. John Divine, who has been
on night duty since 1885, will take
charge Of the day shift which was
formerly under Sergeant Kiser, and
acting sergeant Huffman will re-
place Sergeant Divine on the night
shift.
Commissioner Ellinger also an
nounced that the detective depart
rnent under Detective Norman
Wolfe, was being enlarged and that
officers Albert Lowry and Charles
Wolford had been named detectives.
1t is also expected that another Of
ficer will be transferred to the de-
tectiVe department in the near fu-
ture. Present members of the de-
Elective department, in addition to
those named above, are Clarence
Carroll and John Rohrer.
The third announcement made by
the Commissioner was that the fol-
lowing four new probationary pa
trolmens have been appointed by the
Board: Norman Wesley Gerberich,
1929 Main Avenue; Donald Warren
HORNE, 210 Playground Avenue;
Harold Lefferts, 842 Mulberry Ave
nue.; Francis Leon Shilling, ia S.
Locust Street.
In announcing these appointment,
the Commissioner stated that 90 ap-
plications for vacancies on the DO
lice force have been received and
studied, and that Of these 96 appIi-
cants, II were personally interview
ed because of the fact that their
qualifications confornned as nearly
as possible with the requirements
of the police department. And it
was from these latter II men that
the four probationary officers were
appointed
It was also announced that no col
ored policemen have as yet been
appointed to the three positions on
the force called for by the Mayor
and Council, although the six who
have applied to date have all been
personally interviewed. It is assum-
ed, therefore, that none of the ap-
plicants met departmental require
ments.
The Commissioner also asked the
members Of the press and radio to
cooperate with the department by
+ as far as possible emitting the men
tioning Of Individual officers in con-
nection with the work of the de-
partnlent, but rather in their write
ups to refer to the police department
as a whole
In making the request, the Com
missioner pointed out that while it
fell to the lot of some officers in the
f course of their duty to take action
in the line of duty that would bring
them before the public, it took the
work of the entire police force to
properly do the job, and therefore
I the credit should be given as much
+ as possible to the police department
{ as whole.
In conclusion, the Commissioner
spoke very highly of the entire po-
lice department and the splendid CO.
operation Of all its members, and he
said that while they made mistakes
ike anyone else, the entire depart
ment was cooperating with Chief
Brown and himself in the finest
manner possible.