An excerpt from the book, “Pensacola’s Finest” available on Amazon
By Mike Simmons
The Pensacola Police Department is one of the most historic in the United States. On July 17, 1821, in the middle of Plaza Ferdinand, a ceremony took place in which the country of Spain turned West Florida – including Pensacola – over to the United States. Two days later, on July 19, the first Pensacola Police Officer was appointed. His name was James Craig. His title was Alquacil, the Spanish word for police officer. Of course, law enforcement existed before the soil became American. James Johnstone served as Marshal under the British rule of West Florida. After the land came under the rule of the United States, there arose a need for the first officer to have a police station with a jail. Since that day, twelve locations for jails and police headquarters have been recorded. In the subsequent posts, I will describe them.
