The Sumpter Township Police Department was founded in 1954 to provide law enforcement services to the citizens of Sumpter Township. Prior to that time responsibility was with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the Michigan State Police. The department's first Chief of Police was Terry Williams, Jr.
Sumpter Township is a rural community of 9,549 residents in the southwest corner of Wayne County, midway between the urban areas of Ann Arbor and Detroit. It encompasses an area of approximately 37.5 square miles.
Sumpter Township was designated township 4 S in range 8 E of Wayne County. The original survey was approved on November 5, 1819. Federal land in Sumpter Township began to be sold to individuals by the 1830s, with one land patent to Arthur Fuller on April 4, 1833.
