ALEXANDER W. HOPE

“A bold spirit, in every way qualified by nature and experience to grapple with the desperate characters who held the country absolutely at their mercy, who laughed at the officers of the law and bade defiance to the civil government.” This was the description of Alexander W. Hope, our first Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles. A true western lawman, he dedicated the last years of his life bringing law and order to southern California. Yet, while his accomplishments were many, little is known about his life and contributions to California history and seems to be overlooked by modern day historians. What we do know is that Hope established a drug store in the downtown area and promptly became involved in local and state government, focusing mostly on law enforcement. Initially, he volunteered to become the very first Chief of Police for the Los Angeles while at the same time served as a Senator representing Southern California. Because of his Senate obligations, Hope only held the position of “Chief” for two months. However, after three years as a State Senator, Hope resigned, returned to Los Angeles and dedicated his full energies to the volunteer Calvary unit called the “Los Angeles Rangers.” It was his experiences with this unit that would provide him with ideas to hire full time police officers and draft policies to govern the future Los Angeles Police Department.
 

Alexander W. Hope was born in 1826, in the state of Virginia. He volunteered to serve in the Mexican American War where he learned his trade as a Doctor. After the war he came to California and settled in the city of Los Angeles. He opened up his first drug store in downtown Los Angeles, where he stayed during his term as State Senator. In September of 1854, he moved to a newer and larger location at the corner of Main and Aliso Street in Captain Alexander Bell’s building. Newly relocated in what was then called “Bell’s Block,” Hope’s drug store advertisement read,
 

“Always on hand a constant supply and assortment of drugs, medicines, paints, oils and fancy soap and perfumes.”

Prior to the actual elections for the state and county offices, Hope participated in the new State Government. In December 1849, while California was in transition from the Mexican to the American government, Hope served as a representative in Sacramento for Southern California. There he faced strong opposition from legislators in the northern part of California. While his articulate abilities and his knowledge of law assisted him in arguing his causes for the south, the voting majority from the north overtook his propositions. As a result, major changes began to occur which would shift the power base from the old Californian families to the new American settlers.
 

Understanding the future doom for the Spanish lifestyle, Hope wrote to several of his friends in search of worthy representatives for Southern California. He recognized that the new government, while promising a smooth transition for the Mexican citizens in California, actually did not have the Mexican lifestyle in mind.

For example, in a letter to his friend Pablo De La Guerra, Hope observes; “the north are totally and universally against anything Spanish and I am sorry to say, that they are upheld in those notions by the governor, the very man who is placed in the position which he occupies for the purpose of watching over and protecting the weak against the strong.”
 

As a State Senator, Hope was appointed as president of the standing committee to investigate land issue. In addition, he was appointed to the public school committee and was assigned to organize public school programs throughout the state. His interest of course was in Los Angeles.
 

HOPE’S TERM AS CHIEF OF POLICE

The elections for the county in 1850 called for the position of Marshal for the city of Los Angeles. This position was initially held by fifty-six year old Samuel Whiting, who was a former county jailer. Whiting held this position for only a few months when he finally resigned over a dispute concerning his salary.
 

At the time, the city council paid Whiting $600.00 a year for his services a City Marshal. In addition, he received compensation or “fees” for other services performed. Whiting however felt that he should be paid comparable to the county sheriff.
 

Consequently, as a result of Whiting’s resignation, the city called for a special election in order to elect a new marshal. This occurred on October 7, 1850 where Alexander W. Hope served as secretary and recorded all of the voter names. Eighty-nine men participated which resulted in the election of 23 year old Thomas Cox of Illinois.
 

From the very beginning, the city council worked on the crime problem that plagued the city. The first attempt at establishing a city police force under the newly incorporated city occurred on July 12, 1851. In the common council minutes, the Mayor recommended A. W. Hope to the position of “Chief of Police,” which was immediately approved. This was done in haste because of some rumored disturbances in the area. About a week later, on July 18, 1851, the council members met to review some propositions submitted to them by the newly appointed Chief. One of the issues discussed was the need for some kind some kind of identification for the police force. Hope recommended that each officer receive a ribbon, identifying them as police officers for the city of Los Angeles. This proposal was agreed to by the City Council and was contracted out to the
 

“Los Angeles Star newspaper” for the actual printing of the ribbons. The printing was accomplished in five days when the bill to print the 100 police ribbon badges was presented to the council for $25.00.
 

The next item of concern for Chief Hope was a meeting location for the police department and the acquisition of weapons. It was decided that the volunteer officers could meet in the county court room and the initial arms were to be provided by the county.
 

This new volunteer police unit experienced some minor problems, which would be expected. First, some of the officers would not report to duty armed. In addition, when faced with a hostile and combative individual, officers were not taught what they could do in case of resistance, or if an arrest was made, where to detain a prisoner. With these issues needing to be addressed, and unable to devote the proper attention to the problem, Alexander W. Hope decided to step down as Chief. Accordingly, on September 25, 1851, just two short months after his appointment, Hope resigned as our First Chief of Police for the city of Los Angeles.
 

HOPE PARTICIPATES IN FIRST STATE ELECTIONS

Because Hope was well liked by the American settlers as well as the old Californian families, he was able to run for and win a position as state senator in 1850. During this election, the voters of the state elected sixteen members for the State Senate.

In Southern California, four districts elected three men to the Senate. Two of those positions served San Diego and Los Angeles, while one position served Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The rest of the legislators in the state represented only one district. In the San Diego and Los Angeles area, the top two candidates would be elected as Senators. The election results returned with Edward Kirby Chamberlin from San Diego wining with a majority of the votes (320). Alexander W. Hope from Los Angeles came in second with 292 votes. Although the population of the Los Angeles and San Diego was about the same, Chamberlin was able to poll a larger vote in Los Angeles than Hope was able to do in San Diego. The actual results were as follows: In San Diego Chamberlin received 224 votes to Hope’s 57. While in Los Angeles, Hope received 235 votes to Chamberlin’s 96 votes. Los Angeles resident John Temple came in third with 176 votes.
 

Up for reelection the following year, Hope received complete endorsement from the citizens of the city. Running as a Whig candidate, Hope defends his party preference in the Los Angeles Star newspaper. On August 23, 1851, Hope writes:
 

“Editors, there has been some individuals who have been making an attempt to get up an excitement concerning the ticket upon which my name appears as candidate for the state senate.
 

It is that the ticket is a Whig ticket, and will be run on Whig principles. I deny most positively any intention, either upon the part of any gentleman whose name appears on the ticket, or of the Whig party, to draw any party lines; and as for two persons Benjamin D. Wilson and myself, are concerned, we will not agree to run as party men.
 

The question, upon which the ticket is brought out, is the question of a division of the state; upon that question alone we all pledge ourselves to run.”

 

While Hope ran as a Whig candidate, he stood in solidarity with the other candidates to divide the State of California into two.
 

Hope’s popularity as a politician was apparent when the Star newspaper editors nominated him as a candidate for the United States congress. Hope, however, declined the nomination.
 

LOS ANGELES RANGERS
 

“If the city of Los Angeles ever had anything to be proud of, it was her heroic Ranger defenders who rid the country of an innumerable horde of freebooters and assassins who threatened a war of utter extermination on the comparatively few Americans that then inhabited the southern countries.”
 

In the early 1850’s, Southern California residents were plagued with Indian troubles, rumored Mexican revolts and organized bands of robbers operating throughout the area.
 

Horace Bell writes: “By the middle of May the whole country from Stockton and San Jose to Los Angles, a distance of 500 miles, was in arms; murder and rapine were the order of the day; the bandits seemed to be everywhere, and to strike when and where least expected.”
 

In response, the State allocated money and arms to organize militia units in Southern California. Typically, these units were 60 in number and received enough equipment to outfit them. To assist Los Angles, a military unit was initially posted in Jurupa, now called Riverside. Fort Tejon, near present day Gorman was later added in 1854. In addition, several volunteer militia units were organized to assist in keeping law and order. In the County of Los Angles and Southern California, a militia of men under the leadership of General Joshua Bean was established. The first unit for Los Angeles was established in December of 1853 and was called the “Los Angeles Guards.” This unit initially received 50 percussion muskets from the State, which were issued to their captain, John O. Wheeler.
 

About the same time of the Los. Angeles. Guard formation, a second unit was established. This unit was called the “Los Angeles Rangers,” which differed from the Los Angeles Guards by being a Calvary unit. The Rangers was one of two Calvary companies that were organized during this time period. The other Calvary unit was under the direction of Captain Harry Love and was based in Calaveras.
 

With the resignation of Alexander W. Hope from the State Senate, he was able to devote his full attention to the Ranger organization. From the beginning, he took his role seriously and was instrumental in not only organizing a first class Calvary unit, but saw to it that they had the best equipment available.
 

Prior to the formation of the Rangers, gathering volunteers and organizing them had its drawbacks. Commenting on the unorganized attempts to put together a posse, Horace Bell writes, “moving an army is a slow business, moving volunteers is aggravatingly slow, and several times we mustered to march, and still some sluggard was not yet ready.” Alexander W. Hope, who rode a mustang horse and wore leather Mexican leggings and jingling spurs, was well prepared to organize a first class unit.
 

For those involved in law enforcement, it is common knowledge that any new police endeavor, requires funding through a combination of private and government donations with the individual officer donating most of their equipment themselves. Equipping the desperately needed Rangers was no different.
 

The formation of the Rangers took place over a period of several months. The first equipment requisition for the Rangers occurred in January of 1853. In a letter to the Quartermaster General of California, W.C. Kibbe, Hope proudly reports that the Rangers were well fitted and armed as any of the regular solders. He at this time requested sabers for the Ranger unit. Hope felt that the appearance of a saber on the side of the Rangers would be intimidating. Consequently, Hope’s letter to the General states, “you are also aware that display goes a great way toward impressing anything upon the minds of the notorious.”

At this point, the Rangers had one hundred members on their rolls, with only twenty-five active members. It is interesting to note that as the volunteer roster grew, Hope made long-range plans to increase the Los Angeles Rangers to battalion size.
 

With the horses on loan from the local ranchers, the city and county pitched in and paid for the maintenance of the horses. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave the unit $1000 dollars for the care and maintenance of the horses. The individual members, in the mean time, provided their own weapons until the State could replace them with Government Issue weapons.
 

On July 21, 1853, having successfully organized an active volunteer force composed of prominent men, Hope confidently writes a letter to the Mayor of the city of Los Angeles and formally advised him of the formation of the Rangers and of their availability to assist in keeping the peace.
 

Hope writes:
 

“To his Honor the Mayor of the city of Los Angeles,
 

As officers of the Los Angeles Rangers, we have the honor to inform you that we have under our command the above named company consisting of twenty five men, and we are authorized by the company to offer their services to sustain the authorities of the country and city in the execution of the laws so long as they shall be furnished with the equipment to mount the company.”
 

In order for the Rangers to receive arms from the State, a bond had to be made as collateral in case of theft or loss of the equipment. Accordingly, Hope put in a second weapons requisition for the Rangers and provided the bond himself. His wish list for arms included: sixty rifles with percussion locks, sixty Colt revolvers, sixty dragoon sabers, sixty saber belts and cartridge belts, sixty saber shoulder straps, sixty holsters for the revolvers with wallets attached and sixty rifle straps and jackets. To complement the weapons he also ordered five thousand rifle ball cartridges, five thousand six shooter cartridges, five thousand rifle caps, five thousand six shooter caps and six ball screws.
 

On October 20, 1853, the initial supply of weapons sent by the Quartermaster General came from Benicia, a city located just north of San Francisco that also served as the State Capital for a while. The Rangers, unfortunately, received only forty rifles along with 1000 rifle ball cartridges, one rifle bullet mould and two ammo chests. No revolvers or sabers were supplied at this time, but were promised by the Quartermaster General as soon as they became available.
 

The rifles proved to be a problem for the Rangers, who normally engaged the criminal element on horseback. While chasing criminals on the open and sparse landscape of Southern California, they often rode fast with running gun battles frequently occurring on horseback. This tactic did not lend itself well to the rifle, which had to be held horizontally with one arm while holding on to the reigns of the horse with the other. After shooting off a bullet, reloading another bullet into the rifle was next to impossible while on horseback. The Rangers complained that by the time you reloaded the rifle, the fight was over.
 

Consequently, almost a year after receiving the rifles, Hope wrote another letter to the Quartermaster General requesting revolvers. Hope explains, “In my operation in this part of the country, I have found that the rifles are not a very efficient arm when used on horseback. For the simple reason that our fights are so sudden and end so soon, that a man has scarce time to reload his rifle when the fight is ended in one way or the other. They are compelled to very fast riding with a gun in the hand, is exceeding troublesome. And when protracted to any length (as frequently occurs) is almost unbearable. In humanity, then I would beg you to send us six shooters if only a few.”
 

On June 10, 1854, Hope’s plea finally resulted in the issuance of 11 revolvers along with 11 revolver flasks. While this was short of the original twenty-five, it would allow at least half of the active unit to carry revolvers.
 

On July 17, 1854, through corresponding with Major General Cobarrubias, Hope learns that the Santa Barbara militia unit recently disbanded. Hope also knew this particular unit originally had sabers issued to them. Desiring to acquire them before another California militia unit learned of their existence, Alexander Hope immediately writes another letter to the Quartermaster General requesting those specific sabers.

 

Enjoying much success and full support of the citizens and the State of California,

the Rangers celebrated the first year anniversary of their organization. Accordingly, on August 10, 1854, they met in front of Hope’s new residence and paraded throughout the city, showcasing their uniforms and equipment. Later in the day, they met at the Bella Union Hotel and had dinner. Several toast were made, one given by Hope was to the President of the United States. Another to Major General Cobarrubias, who was instrumental in providing some of the equipment along with the all important sabers from the Santa Barbara militia unit. Another toast was given to the Commanding Military General of the State, who approved the arms to the unit and finally, a toast to the Santa Barbara militia unit, who most likely allowed for the supplying of sabers to the Rangers.
 

Showcasing the Rangers and their accomplishments, Alexander Hope invited newspaper reporters to the newly constructed Ranger Headquarters located in front of his Drug Store. The Rangers constructed a room addition to the building in order to open up a reading room for citizen to enjoy. More importantly, it was to be used by the youth as a meeting location for constructive activities, which included learning from available reading material. The idea of providing an outlet for idle youth gave the local papers a favorable review of this tour. They also reported that in addition to the reading room, which was the only one of its kind in the city, the overall appearance of the reading room appeared sharp. In addition, the weapons that were used by the Rangers were in a secure location, with the Ranger unit flag prominently hanging on the wall.
 

In addition to the duties of patrolling on horseback as a Calvary unit, the Rangers evolved into a fraternity type unit complete with regular meetings and annual elections. On October 5, 1854, a month after their one-year anniversary the Rangers held elections for the replacement of Billy Getman, their 1st Lieutenant. Getman, the owner of the popular Montgomery Saloon along with another Ranger, Ely Smith were replaced because they were accused of attempt robbery and murder of a prominent business man. Alexander W. Hope came to the aid of these two Rangers by posting bail. While the jury returned with a guilt verdict, a technical error was cited by Getman’s attorney, consequently, no jail or fine was given to the defendants. It is interesting to note that both Getman and Smith would later become Los Angeles City Marshals.

 

THE FIRST PAID POLICE OFFICERS

On September 29, 1854, Alexander W. Hope participates in the city council meeting and proposes to employ four officers on the weekends. It appears from city council records, that the Marshal only worked weekdays and was a nine to five job. Along with Hope’s request, Councilman Requena presented a draft of an ordinance defining the duties of police officers.
 

The very first recorded payroll for police officers in the city of Los Angeles occured on October 13, 1854. The City Council notes record $30.00 paid to Alexander Gibson, John Brannan and H, Lewis.
 

On November 16, 1854, the city council allowed the appointment of four full time officers with a monthly salary of $100.00. Finally, after several years of planning, lobbying and volunteering, Alexander W. Hope had a paid police department for the city of Los Angeles.
 

Unfortunately, on January 17, 1856, Alexander W. Hope died in Los Angeles at the age of 36. The Star Newspaper records “Dr. Hope was a useful and respected citizen, energetic, prompt, and always willing to render a service to his fellow citizens at a moments notice. As a private man, he was hospital, generous and kind. He leaves many warm friends to regret his unexpected death.”
 

Sadly, the Los Angeles Rangers, whose cause Hope most efficiently championed, died along with him. Just seven months after Hope’s death, the last recorded activity of the Rangers occurred on August 2, 1856, when they were disbanded after the riot of 1856. The Star newspaper states “we understand that the company of Rangers mustered during the recent excitement here, have broken up their organization. They were about proceeding on duty, but were informed their services were not required. The City Guards are permanently organized.”
 

When the city had no money for a full time police department, Hope volunteered to be its first chief. Always in the forefront of law and order, Hope saw the need for a full time and organized police department to serve the city. Serving as the first Chief of Police for Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Councilman, State Senator and finally, Captain of the volunteer Los Angeles Rangers, Hope dedicated his life in upholding the law. In so doing, Hope established himself as a true western lawman, and a pioneer in organizing what will become one of the greatest police departments in the world, namely, the Los Angeles Police Department.


 

Sergeant Roberto Alaniz #23529