The Joplin Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for serving the city of Joplin, Missouri

Joplin, Missouri

Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...

Department Structure and History

The Joplin Police Department was created in 1873, and is responsible for providing law enforcement services to a major population center in Southwest Missouri encompassing approximately 50,000 city residents and 200,000 daily visitors through its patrol, investigations, administration, special enforcement, and support services bureaus which report to the Chief of Police, and previously the Police Marshal. According to the The Officer Down Memorial Page

The Officer Down Memorial Page

The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. is a non-profit organization that maintains a website listing American, Canadian, central European, Australian, and New Zealander law enforcement officers and prison officers who have died in the line of duty....

, nineteen officers have been killed in the line of duty in the Department's history.

Joplin Police Department Marshals and Chiefs

Individuals who have served as Marshal or Chief of the Joplin Police Department since its creation in 1873 have included the following

Police Chief/Marshal Years of Service

• J. William Lupton (1873-1875)
• John Frederick Bair (1875-1876)
• L. Cass Hamilton (1876-1886)
• Calvin Nickell (1886-1887)
• J.J. Cofer (1887-1892, first term)
• John Alexander McManamy (1893-1896, first term)
• W.E. Morgan (1897-1898)
• John Alexander McManamy (1899-1900, second term)
• Thomas James Cofer (1901-1903)
• John Alexander McManamy (1903-1905, third term)
• Joseph H. Myers (1905-1909, first term)
• John Alexander McManamy (1909-1910, fourth term)
• Joseph H. Myers (1911-1914, second term)
• Henry N. Milligan (1914-1917)
• J.J. Cofer (1917-1918, second term)
• Joseph H. Myers (1918-1922, third term)
• Vern P. Hine (1922-1924)
• William F. Gibson (1924-1925)
• Luther M. Laster (1925-1926)
• Bert Blizzard (1926)
• Arch McDonald (1926-1928)
• Guy Harrington (1928-1934)
• Henry Mead (1934-1937)
• Joseph W. Pratt (1937-1938)
• Barney Walker (1938-1941, first term)
• Tony Calvin Bone (1941, first term)
• Barney Walker (1941-1942, second term)
• Tony Calvin Bone (1942-1943, second term)
• Henry Vermillion (1943-1945)
• Kendrick Lloyd (1945-1948)
• Roy E. Isgrigg (1948-1950, first term)
• T. Frank Martin (1950-1951)
• John T. Hollis (1951-1952)
• Roy E. Isgrigg (1952-1962, second term)
• Walter H. Flenner (1962-1965)
• Adrian Lacy Meacham (1965-1972)
• Bernard Kakuske (1972-1977)
• Larry D. Tennis (1977-1986)
• David McCracken (1986)
• Michael J. Wightman (1986-1991)
• David R. Nieber (1992-1998)
• Edward G. Dennis (1998-2002)
• Kevin Lindsey (2002-2006)
• Lane J. Roberts (2007-Present)