The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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The Avon Park Police Department

The Avon Park Police Department was the municipal law enforcement agency of the City of Avon Park for over a century, operating from the town’s initial incorporation in 1913 until the city council voted to contract all municipal law enforcement duties to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office in 2021.[lof-1913-6662][newssun-contract-2025]

The Town Marshal and Municipal Charter (1913–1926)

When the Florida Legislature incorporated the Town of Avon Park under Chapter 6662 on 23 May 1913, Section 47 designated Irvin Raulerson as the inaugural town marshal.[lof-1913-6662] Under early charter authority, the mayor served as municipal magistrate, trying infractions against town ordinances, while the town marshal executed warrants, collected court costs, impounded loose livestock, and maintained public order along Main Street.[lof-1913-6662]

In 1919, the municipality organized a continuous police leadership roster headed by an appointed chief of police.[maxwell-1976] Early police chiefs included:

Term Chief of Police Biographical and Service Details
1919–1920 Love D. McGiboney Appointed chief during county division; later served as peace officer in Hardee County.[maxwell-1976]
1920–1922 George R. Prescott Oversaw municipal enforcement during the 1921 county seat contest and post-WWI citrus expansion.[maxwell-1976]
1922–1926 James J. “Bob” Still Commanded town policing throughout the height of the 1920s Florida land boom.[maxwell-1976]
1926–1928 William H. McCarthy Reorganized the department following the boom collapse; subsequently appointed Fire Chief (1928–1938).[maxwell-1976]
1928–1931 Aaron Franklin Helms Head of police during the construction of the permanent municipal station and City Hall.[maxwell-1976]

The 1927 City Charter and Municipal Headquarters

On 6 June 1927, the Legislature enacted Chapter 12514, formally repealing previous town charters and establishing the City of Avon Park under a council-manager system.[lof-1927-12514] The charter vested executive police authority in an appointed Chief of Police, created a formal municipal court system, and authorized sentences of hard labor on city streets and municipal improvements for unpaid fines.[lof-1927-12514]

In 1928, the city erected a combined two-story brick Municipal Fire and Police Building on South Delaney Avenue designed by architect William J. Heim, adjacent to the 1929 City Hall.[maxwell-1976] The building housed municipal holding cells, police dispatch desks, and apparatus bays.[maxwell-1976]

Civil Rights and Department Integration (1955)

Throughout its first four decades, the police department operated exclusively under Jim Crow racial segregation. In early 1955, the Progressive Civic Club—led by prominent African American ministers, educators, and civic organizers including Queen Coward—formally petitioned the Avon Park City Council to integrate the municipal police force.[newssun-conner-1995]

In April 1955, the City of Avon Park appointed Fred L. C. Conner as its first African American police officer.[newssun-conner-1995] Soon after, the city hired Robert Britt as Conner’s patrol partner.[newssun-conner-1995] Operating initially in the historically segregated Black neighborhoods and commercial corridors on the town’s south side, Conner and Britt became pioneering law enforcement figures in Highlands County.[newssun-conner-1995] Britt later transitioned into municipal leadership, winning election in 1973 as Avon Park’s first Black city councilman.[newssun-conner-1995]

Statutory Pension and Sheriff Contracting (1961–2021)

On 22 April 1961, the Florida Legislature enacted Chapter 61-1868, Laws of Florida, which abolished the existing municipal police officers’ retirement fund and distributed its assets to ensure proper actuarial management under modernized municipal and state pension systems.[lof-1961-1868]

In the late 2010s, escalating operational costs, dispatch equipment upgrades, and officer recruitment challenges led the city council to evaluate contractual law enforcement.[newssun-contract-2025] In 2021, the City of Avon Park entered into a comprehensive interlocal policing agreement with the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, transferring all frontline municipal patrol, criminal investigation, and traffic enforcement to the Sheriff’s Office while retaining the municipal Police Pension Board to administer legacy retirements.[newssun-contract-2025] In July 2025, following a comprehensive municipal feasibility review, the Avon Park City Council reaffirmed the interlocal contract, maintaining countywide sheriff policing for the city.[newssun-contract-2025]

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
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unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
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Sources

  1. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 6662 (No. 242), Laws of Florida 1913: An Act to Incorporate the Town of Avon Park (1913)
  2. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 12514 (No. 709), Laws of Florida 1927, Special Acts: An Act to Abolish the Present Municipal Government and Municipality of the City of Avon Park (1927)
  3. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  4. Romona Washington, Highlands News-Sun, Conner first Black to serve as police officer — Highlands News-Sun, 25 February 2025, reprinting Romona Washington's profile of 1995 (2025)
  5. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 61-1868, Laws of Florida 1961: An Act abolishing the city of Avon Park police officers' retirement fund and providing for the distribution of such fund (1961)
  6. Highlands News-Sun, 25 May 2025, Avon Park discusses law enforcement contract (2025)

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