Dedicated to the protection and well being of the people of San Diego, the SDPD’s number one concern is human safety. Stopping crime and upholding the law are also on the top priority lists.
The metropolitan San Diego Police Department was established May 16, 1889. On June 1 of that year, Joseph Coyne, the city marshal, was appointed the first chief of police. The crime lab was established in 1939, patrol cars got one-way radios in 1932 (two-way radios four years later) and the first reserves appeared on the scene in 1942.
In addition to the standard police force, the SDPD also uses helicopters such as the Eurocopter AS355 which was seen in being sent after the T. rex in the San Diego Incident.
During the San Diego Incident, the SDPD was sent to the scene most likely due to a call for domestic and animal disturbances. Once the group of squad cars laid eyes on the true nature of the problem, a rampaging bull Tyrannosaurus rex, they immediately turned their vehicles around and fled in the opposite direction.
