The first Montgomery County Police Department Motor Unit, photographed outside Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville on July 4, 1922. Chief Charles Cooley (center) stands with Officers Earl Burdine, Lawrence Clagett, Guy Jones, Leroy Rodgers, and Oscar Gaither beside their Harley-Davidson motorcycles on the day the department officially began operations. Photograph by Lewis Reed.

On the morning of July 4, 1922, a small group assembled outside Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville to mark the beginning of a new era in Montgomery County’s history. Chief Charles Cooley and five motorcycle officers had been appointed to form the county’s first organized police department. Before they departed on their inaugural patrols, local photographer Lewis Reed preserved the moment with his camera.

The photograph captures Officers Earl Burdine, Lawrence Clagett, Guy Jones, Chief Charles Cooley, Leroy Rodgers, and Oscar Gaither standing beside their Harley-Davidson motorcycles. More than a century later, it remains one of the earliest surviving images of the Montgomery County Police Department and a remarkable record of law enforcement in its infancy.

New Police Force Installed
As reported in the Montgomery County Sentinel, July 7, 1922

The officers of the Montgomery County Police Department were installed in office at the Court House on Tuesday, July 4, 1922. A goodly number of persons were present to witness the ceremony. This new force is a novelty now upon trial, introduced by an Act of the last Legislature for Maryland, and it is the general impression that it will prove to be a worthy innovation in behalf of peaceful government.

The force is composed of six members: Chief Charles T. Cooley and Privates Oscar T. Gaither, Leroy Rodgers, Earl Burdine, Guy L. Jones, and Lawrence Clagett. They filed into the courtroom wearing their new uniforms of gray whipcord cloth and their weapons, taking their seats in a line facing the Judge’s bench.

The program began with the police officers taking their oaths, administered by Mr. Ray, followed by the presentation of certificates of appointment by President Benjamin Perry of the Board of County Commissioners.

The ceremony concluded with brief speeches by Judge E. C. Peter and State’s Attorney Thomas L. Dawson.

Judge Peter addressed the new force, congratulating them on their appointment but warning them sternly against bribery, petty jealousy, and “winking at crime.” He encouraged them to uphold order, peace, and dignity in the county by strictly enforcing police laws against all offenders without fear or favor. He emphasized that the State stood behind them in their work, and that their duty was to maintain their honor and make the laws “masters of this land”.

State’s Attorney Dawson advised the officers to keep detailed records of all dates and circumstances in cases they dealt with, which he noted would lead to the “economizing of time” and the “swift and indubitable conviction of offenders”.

It was established that the new police force would work in harmony with, rather than interfere with, the work of the Sheriff’s office. Regarding compensation, the Chief of the force was to receive $1,800 a year, while each private was set to receive $1,500. Additionally, each officer was allowed $300 a year for the upkeep of his motorcycle.

The Montgomery County these officers served was a rural community of fewer than 35,000 residents. Modern police communications did not yet exist. Officers relied on telephones at the courthouse and local firehouses, while a flashing signal light atop the Red Brick Courthouse summoned them when emergencies arose. It was a simple but effective system for an era before radios and patrol cars became standard equipment.

The Red Brick Courthouse in Rockville, photographed by Lewis Reed in 1914. Just eight years later, the courthouse became the headquarters of Montgomery County’s newly established Police Department, where officers reported for duty and received emergency calls before the era of police radios.

Lewis Reed’s 1922 image records the birth of Montgomery County’s Police Department at a time when motorcycles replaced horses, rural roads linked isolated communities, and professional law enforcement was becoming an essential public service.

Today, this remarkable photograph remains an enduring testament to both the officers who answered the county’s first call to duty and the photographer whose work continues to preserve Montgomery County’s rich history.