Law enforcement infrastructure in Phoenix has made tremendous strides since the rough, dusty frontier days in 1881. It’s amazing to learn that before the first permanent jail could be built – prisoners were actually shackled by chain to a rock in what is now downtown Phoenix, from anywhere to a few fours or a few days! It wouldn’t be long before the fledgling town became the new capital of the Arizona Territory and by the start of the twentieth century Phoenix was becoming a prosperous little town centered on an agricultural economy with a population of 3,152. Now that civilization was becoming established, definite improvements in law enforcement were needed.
By 1911, Phoenix had a regular police force of fifteen men serving a burgeoning population of almost 12,000 (today Phoenix has 1,647,000 people!). The police now had uniforms and badges, no longer resembling the cowboys of the Old West. The first police vehicles were also put into service around this time showing that Phoenix was moving up in the world. While law enforcement infrastructure and technological improvements continued to evolve, the Phoenix Police Dept. would figure prominently in some of the most noteworthy events in the history of Phoenix – with profound legal impact nationwide.
One of the more scandalous, nationally sensationalized cases is that of Winnie Ruth Judd which has a prominent exhibit at the museum. She allegedly murdered two women in 1931 (chopping up one of the bodies) and placing both in trunks and other baggage, then shipping them off to Los Angeles by rail. The blood which started leaking from the baggage along with the foul stench emanating from it – led back to her – resulting in some of the most frenzied tabloid coverage of the decade. Supposedly, these murders were committed by Judd in a battle royale over the affections of a prominent Phoenix businessman named Jack Halloran. While this is horrific even by 2024’s jaded standards, in 1931 this was particularly hot stuff.
To learn more about the police investigation into the double homicide, Judd’s post-conviction (and subsequent escapes from mental institutions) check out the following books: The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd (1992) by Jana Bommersbach and Winnie Ruth Judd: The Trunk Murders (1973) by Dwight J. Dobkins & Robert J. Hendricks.
However, the most famous (or infamous) case, depending on your point of view is the far reaching Supreme Court case Miranda Vs. Arizona (1966) which determined that police officers must inform criminal suspects of a series of rights related to avoiding self-incrimination, the right to an attorney, and that the suspect must be informed of their constitutional rights before any interrogation takes place. This landmark case centered on the saga of Ernesto Arturo Miranda who had been arrested and interrogated as a suspect on rape charges in 1963 (he already had an extensive crime record) when his vehicle was spotted and the license plate was recognized by the brother of Miranda’s alleged rape victim.
This snowballed into a major case of supposedly unlawful conviction of Miranda – who had not been informed of legal rights when it was claimed that he was tricked by the police into confessing to the kidnapping and rape. A visit to the museum relates more about what happened to Ernesto Miranda in the aftermath of this landmark case, and a Google search will yield a myriad of articles concerning everything about the case and the Supreme Court decision overturning his conviction.
In any event, the museum contains an impressive number of well arranged artifacts and exhibits in a relatively small space. However, the most important of these exhibits presents three walls of plaques and photos commemorating all the police officers who have sacrificed their lives in service to Phoenix during the past 143 years of the city’s often turbulent history.
For more information check out the following sites:
