Pictures Trace Peekskill Police Department's History

It wasn’t uncommon to see unmarked black Studebakers used as Peekskill police patrol cars in the 1950s, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Except there was one problem.

“A black car at night, it really caused a safety hazard,” explained Frank Goderre as he showed off a number of the old photographs he’s accumulated over the years .

Goderre, a former Peekskill police who retired in 1978, donated a set of old photographs to the Peekskill Police department this month. The photos are hanging in a hallway in the police department’s communications center.

The photos date back to the first police department, which stood on Central Avenue from 1915 to 1977, and are as current as the city’s official announcement in March that it was promoting its current chief, Eric Johansen.

“You can look at a car and tell the era,” Goderre said. “I don’t even have to look at the date.”

Goderre said he got many of the photos by looking at the old negatives at the Peekskill Museum. He also has also collected photos of neighboring police departments over the years.

“If you go to Cortlandt town hall, you’ll see 30 of my photos there,” Goderre said.

Chief Johansen said the historic pictures are perfect fit the department.

“It’s something that police officers can see and realize that they are a part of history,” Johansen said. “Now there is a perfect connection between the police officers in 2013 and the ones in 1950. They are all a part of something.”