Arlington County Police Department
The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency servicing the 207,627 residents of the of jurisdiction within Arlington County, Virginia. It is the primary law enforcement agency in the county for all levels of law enforcement, although the many federal reservations, enclaves and special jurisdictions in the county often maintain their own law enforcement agencies, which often collaborate with the County Police on many of their larger issues. Etymology. The ACPD was created on February 1, 1940, as the Arlington County Division of Police with Harry Woodyard as the first Chief of  Police. It assumed its current name on October 1, 1963, after a departmental reorganization. History. 1940s. On February 1, 1940, the first Arlington County policing department was formed, under the name of the "Arlington County Division of Police". A few years later, the first ACPD auxiliary force was created. 1960s. In 1960, Arlington County Police arrested people for violating Virginia's segregation and anti-miscegenation laws. In 1963, the agency assumed its present name. 2000s. In September 2001, the Arlington County P.D. responded to the Pentagon after terrorists attacked it during the September 11 attacks, as the building is located  in the county. 2010s. Since the establishment of the Arlington County Police Department, 7 officers have died in the line of duty, the most recent in 2016 as a result of an illness caused by the September 11 attacks of 2001. 2020s. In June 2020, Arlington County withdrew its personnel from the District of Columbia after Arlington County Police Department officers were involved in an incident in which protesters were forcefully cleared from Lafayette Park. An Arlington County Police Department captain was later named in a federal lawsuit related to the incident. Organization. Chief of Police. In September 2020, Charles  Andy Penn became Acting Chief of Police following the retirement of former Chief of Police Murray Jay Farr. Farr had served as Chief of Police since 2015. Organizational structure. The ACPD is divided into division, sections, and units. Services provided. The ACPD provides the following services: Equipment and vehicles. ACPD equips their officers with Smith & Wesson M&P15 semiautomatic rifles chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. These rifles are often equipped with red dot sights, weapon mounted lights, standard capacity 30 round magazines, and slings. The department issued sidearm is the Glock 17 or Glock 19, both chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum . Previously, officers had the option of carrying 12 gauge Remington Model 870 shotguns, but these are being phased out for the AR-15 rifles. Officers can also carry backup weapons in addition to their issued sidearm, provided that their backup weapon is chambered for .380 ACP or greater. For less than lethal options, officers are equipped with baton and TASER X2 Defender.