The Florida Highway Patrol was formed on August 1, 1939 by the Florida Legislature and began with a full complement of sixty officers earning a salary of $1,500 per year. But the trooper's Ford patrol cars were not issued radios until 1943 forcing them to use civilian telephones on an "as needed" basis within their area. However, Pensacola Police Department officers had the use of "call boxes" at certain locations within the city limits, but troopers were not privy to this convenience. By 1943, the Highway Patrol Troopers were finally issued car radios with Pensacola obtaining their radio tower in 1944.
This two-way radio substation connected Pensacola with Key West (Pensacola News Journal 10-5-1944) thus creating a state wide net. However, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office did not receive their first car radios until 1945 and only in a limited number. Four of their patrol cars received two-way radios in April 1945 (Pensacola News Journal 4-18-1945). Their radios operated on a 50-watt system but were tied in with the new Florida Highway Patrol substation.
Therefore, they now had access to Florida's statewide communication system as well as Alabama. Two other cars with the Sheriff's Office were installed with one-way radios (could receive transmissions only). Sheriff R. L. Kendrick had now brought his department into the modern age of law enforcement communications!
Pensacola News Journal Article 4-18-1945
Florida Highway Trooper Emilio Edward McGovern, Badge #3
Pensacola's Emilio Edward McGovern FHP Trooper #3, (1913-1987)