West Wyoming Borough

A community in Historic Northeastern Pennsylvania

Wyoming Area Regional Police

The Story of West Wyoming Police Chief Ralph Dailey (by Eileen Cipriani)

It was particularly tough being a police officer in the early 20th Century. Until 1903, officers were paid a fee for each arrest. They didn’t actually have a salary. In 1903 an ordinance was past paying the Chief of Police a salary of $5 a month, an extra $5 if he acted as janitor. One especially sad day involving the police was July 29, 1918 when both the chief of police in Wyoming and West Wyoming were murdered. Ralph Dailey, a chief of West Wyoming Police was dispersing a crowd just after midnight when he was shot dead by a member of the crowd. Chief Edward Brennan, of Wyoming, upon learning of the murder saw a man fleeing near the borough border line and gave chase. When he had almost reached the man, the suspect turned and shot the chief. The man was later arrested, but was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. (Thanks to Ellen Campbell for the use of her extensive collection of local history books for research.
Ralph Dailey Memorial Park dedicated in Summer of 2008

Descendants of Ralph Dailey pictured next to park sign.
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