by Cassidy Klassen
Policing in Winkler started in 1906 in the community founded by Mennonite migrants from Russia. Jacob J. Schultz was the first acting officer and chief.
Some of the duties assigned to Chief Shultz included bell ringer, fire chief, weed inspector, and traffic control.
To support policing efforts was built an arsenal of new weapons popular with law enforcement elsewhere. Among these were the John J. Tower’s ‘Double Lock’ Handcuffs and the Fourth Change Revolver by Smith & Wesson.
The two lock settings on the ‘Double Lock’ handcuffs prevent any possibility of a prisoner slipping their hand through a gap in the device. Even Houdini could not escape them. The handcuffs provided the necessary means to assist police in apprehending and controlling suspects.
The revolver, one of the first guns to be used by the Winkler Police, was manufactured in faraway Middlesex, New Jersey. Both were valuable tools for helping Winkler police officers keep the peace.
The Smith & Wesson .32/20 Hand Ejector Model was introduced in January of 1903; however, the Regulation Police Model was only introduced in 1917.