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Hermann Baumer was elected marshal of Ballwin in 1957 when Ballwin became a fourth class city. He bought and installed a base radio station and his wife, Lucille, handled the phone calls. A porch light turned on by his wife regularly signaled him to return home at 539 Manchester Road for a call for police assistance. In 1958, the city was able to purchase its first police car. It was shared by Baumer and the four officers who rode part time in the evenings.
Ballwin hired George Arft to be its first full time police officer in 1959. In 1963, Philip St. Onge was appointed as the first Chief of Police; he served until 1965. The Department purchased its second marked patrol car in 1963. Chief St. Onge resigned in 1965 and Donald “Red” Loehr, a native son and an ex-Cardinal baseball player turned policeman, was appointed Chief of Police by Mayor Robert Jones. In 1967, a Communications Section was added to the Police Department and four dispatchers were hired. In 1970 the force had 12 uniformed officers and 4 marked cars. After serving for 35 years, Chief Loehr retired in 1997 and James Biederman served as police chief until the end of 2007. The Police Department building was named the ‘Donald “Red” Loehr Police and Courts Center’ in 2002.
To date, the Ballwin Police Department has 51 sworn officers and 9 full time dispatchers.
Steven Schicker was appointed Chief of Police in 2008.
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