Compton Police patch
The Compton Police Department was the municipal law enforcement agency for the city of Compton, California until it was disbanded by the City Council on September 16, 2000. Effective September 17, 2000, the Compton City Council contracted with the County of Los Angeles for law enforcement services provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
In 2009, Mayor Eric Perrodin and Council members formed the Compton Police Services Feasibility Study Group to explore the possibility of re-establishing the Compton Police Department. The director of this project is Joseph T. Rouzan, Jr.--a former Compton Police Chief. After two years on March 8, 2011, Mayor Perrodin withdrew the proposal due to lack of support from his council colleagues. Compton's earliest settlers, much like its present residents, desired autonomy. A search of the records reveals that achieving that goal was not always easy.
While the details are somewhat sketchy, available documents and journals show that the development of competent law enforcement in Compton developed in an evolutionary processes.
Three days after the official date of incorporation on May 14, 1888, at the first meeting of the Compton Board of Trustees, these newly elected officials recognized that the citizens did not wish to be obligated to the Los Angeles County Sheriff for police protection so they appointed a City Marshal. Named to the post was Asbury McComas, who also owned the local livery stable.
Two weeks later, on May 28, the Board of Trustees established the first committee on police matters and set the City Marshal's salary at $100 annually.
It soon became apparent that something was wrong in the City Marshal's office. After an investigation of some widely circulated allegations, a special meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on December 31, 1888, and formal charges were filed against McComas. The City Fathers had concluded that the Marshal was not turning license fees and dog taxes over to the City Treasurer as he was legally bound to do. He was asked to pay up and resign.
A week later, City Marshal Asbury McComas did formally resign. The records do not indicate whether he ever turned the taxes over to the city. One history of Compton, referring to the appointment of the first City Marshal, Police Judge and Street Superintendent, states that bonds of up to $5,000 were fixed for "principal officers". It is not clear whether McComas was included among these, but if so, that would have been a means for the city to recoup its funds.
C.W. Lyman replaced McComas and the Marshal's salary was raised to $15 per month plus 10 percent of the dog tax.
An entry to the minutes of the Board of Trustees for July 22, 1889 shows that Marshal Lyman was paid $1.95 for "taking care of an intoxicated woman."
