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The Arizona Rangers are a non-commissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the state of Arizona.
In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Legislature passed Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) 41-4201 authorizing the Arizona Rangers to provide armed law enforcement assistance to any Local, State, Federal or Tribal law enforcement agency in Arizona, which was then signed into law by Governor Jane Hull amending ARS Title 41 – State Government. In addition, the Arizona Rangers are exempt from private security regulations under ARS 32-2606 authorizing the Rangers to provide armed public safety services for a variety of nonprofit organizations.
In 1901, the Arizona Rangers were created to rid the Arizona Territory of outlaws and corruption. At the time, the Territory was very dangerous. The United States Congress had denied the Governor's application for Arizona to become a State in part because there was no law and order. The Rangers were well-trained, well-equipped, and very effective at apprehending even the most dangerous of outlaws, evolving into one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the country. Modeled after the Texas Rangers, the Arizona Rangers were tasked with hunting down and arresting in the Territory, especially along the Mexican border. By 1908, most of the outlaws had been arrested, killed, or had fled into Mexico. The Rangers were disbanded for political reasons in 1909. Shortly afterward, Arizona became the 48th state.
The Rangers were resurrected again in 1957 and continue to serve the State of Arizona today. They receive no governmental funding, with each Ranger paying for their own training and equipment.
Police departments often call in the Rangers to assist with tasks such as traffic control, surveillance, crime scene preservation, court security, and prisoner transportation. Each hour a Ranger donates allows those police officers extra time to protect each other and the communities they serve. For smaller agencies, the Rangers are a force multiplier and work alongside local law enforcement performing a variety of tasks. School Districts have called upon the Arizona Rangers to provide Resource Officers at several schools throughout the State. Arizona Rangers may exercise powers of arrest under ARS 13–3884, arrest by private person. However, while working certain duties (for example, court security and prisoner transportation) or at the direction and under the authority of requesting agencies, the Arizona Rangers do have full arrest authority.
In many circumstances, Rangers Train-to-Task to support the functions of a specific law enforcement duty, such as working with the railroad police. For example, the Tucson Company of the Arizona Rangers operates as an enhanced law enforcement assist group. Those Rangers complete additional training and physical conditioning and are then approved by the requesting agency to perform specialized support services, such as saturation patrol and second man in car while responding to calls for service.
On February 15, 1909, the Arizona legislature repealed the act establishing the Arizona Rangers. During the seven years of its operations, 107 men served with the Rangers. The vote to disband was vetoed by Republican Governor Joseph Henry Kibbey, but the Democratic-dominated assembly overrode the veto, backed by political pressure from county sheriffs and district attorneys in northern Arizona.
After the Arizona Rangers disbanded, many of the former Rangers stayed in law enforcement. Harry C. Wheeler was elected sheriff of Cochise County and Thomas Rynning became the prison warden in Yuma, Arizona.
Seven former Rangers reunited in 1940 to ride together in the Prescott Rodeo Parade. In 1955, the Arizona legislature authorized a $100 monthly pension for former Rangers who had served at least six months and who still lived in Arizona. Five men qualified for this pension.
William MacLeod Raine wrote the following about crime in Arizona Territory and the effectiveness of the Arizona Rangers in a 1905 edition of Pearson's Magazine:
The present-day Arizona Rangers are an unpaid, all-volunteer, law enforcement support and assistance civilian nonprofit organization in the state of Arizona. They fulfill a three-point mission: 1. Law Enforcement support, by working co-operatively at the request of and under the direction, control, and supervision of established law enforcement officials and officers; 2. Government and non-profit security services; and 3. Youth support and community services. All aspects of their mission preserve the tradition, honor, and history of the original Arizona Rangers.
The Rangers operate throughout the State of Arizona, but use about 22 Companies that operate semi-independently as local geography and community needs dictate while operating within the guidelines of a statewide organization. Each Company has a Captain who is a member of the Board of Governors and operationally reports to an Area Commander. So while there is only one Arizona Rangers organization, the Company Captains have latitude to make adjustments as to how their Company fulfills the mission in their local area.
When an applicant applies to become a Ranger, a full background investigation and a physical fitness test are performed to ensure qualified candidates are selected. When an applicant is accepted, they are placed on probation until they complete all requirements, which includes the Arizona Ranger Training Academy, a minimum of 24 hours of supervised duty with a field training officer, a minimum of 90 days on probation status, and meet any other requirements placed upon them by the company.
In July 1902, after successfully recruiting and organizing the original Rangers, Mossman resigned to return to ranching. He was replaced by Thomas H. Rynning. The third and last commander of the Arizona Rangers was Harry C. Wheeler.
In general, the men of the Arizona Rangers were extremely capable; their exploits were widely reported by the newspapers of the day. "Ranger's Long Chase; More than a Thousand Miles Over Deserts and Mountains", New York Times, June 1, 1902 Many of these reports are collected in the book, The Arizona Rangers, edited by Joseph Miller.
of the Arizona Rangers, which were first issued in 1903 were solid silver five-pointed ball-tipped stars, lettered in blue enamel with engravings etched in blue, and are a valuable collectible. An officer's badge was engraved with the Ranger's name, while badges for enlisted men were numbered. Upon resignation, a Ranger returned his badge, which was then available to be assigned to a new Ranger.
With the arrival of Baylor's Confederate Army in Mesilla and his declaration of a Confederate Territory of Arizona in early 1862, the Arizona Territorial Rangers were disbanded by Captain Tevis who joined San Elizario Spy Company in the Confederate Army. The Confederate Territorial Governor, General Baylor eventually saw the need for the rangers also and formed Company A, Arizona Rangers as the first of three companies for the defense of Arizona Territory. It was commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter and Second Lieutenant James Henry Tevis. The Arizona Rangers were sent to Tucson to defend western Arizona Territory. When the California Column drove the Confederates out of Arizona Territory, plans for organizing the Arizona Rangers were put off for years.
In the early 1880s, Arizona was not only having an Indian war, but border crimes and killings were making Arizona unfit to live in. Upon taking office, Governor Frederick Augustus Tritle faced a problem of lawlessness within the territory caused by outlaw cowboys and hostile natives. On April 24, 1882, he authorized formation of the 1st Company of Arizona Rangers in Tombstone making John H. Jackson its captain. They were to be similar to Texas Rangers and combat and hostile Indians. His first assignment to the Rangers was to scout near the border of the territory for Indians, and for those who recently killed a teamster there. The Rangers Captain was only able to pay the first months wages, and the Governor despite his best efforts was never able to get them funded by the Territorial Legislature or Congress. On May 20, he wrote Johnston informing them they should continue until the end of the month when their pay ran out. Following the Earp Vendetta Ride and the departure of the Earps lawlessness in the area seems to have quieted.Wagoner, Jay J., Arizona Territory 1863–1912: A Political history, Tucson: University of Arizona Press, (1970). . pp. 194–200
The analogous agency in the Territory of New Mexico, organized in 1905, was called the New Mexico Mounted Patrol. Across the Mexican border in northern Sonora was a similar law enforcement agency called the Guardia Rural, colloquially known as the rurales. This group is often confused with another group often referred to with the same colloquialism, the Guardia Fiscal, which was commanded by a Russian, Colonel Emilio Kosterlitzky, who cooperated closely with the Rangers.Vanderwood, P. J. (1972). "Review: Emilio Kosterlitzky: Eagle of Sonora and the Southwest Border. by Cornelius C. Smith, Jr." The Hispanic American Historical Review, 52(2), pp. 304–306.
Another group known as the Arizona Rangers is based in Tucson and is part of Missouri Western Shooters.
| Carlos Tafolla | Killed after the Battleground Gunfight | |
| Jeff Kidder | Killed after a gunfight in Naco, Sonora | |
| John W. Thomas Jr. | Killed after a shootout in Sierra Vista, Arizona |
March 6, 2004
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