Theodore Roosevelt, appointed New York police commissioner in May 1895 by Mayor William Strong, selected the Colt New Police .32 revolver in 1896 as the department’s first standard-issue sidearm and required every officer to pass a uniform qualification course.

New York’s force, created in 1845 as the nation’s first professionally staffed police agency, had long lacked fitness rules and issued no department weapons; officers bought their own, often cheap, poorly maintained pistols that produced accidental discharges the city had to pay for. A common but costly option was the hammerless Smith & Wesson New Departure .38. After the 1894 Lexow Committee, a state Senate inquiry led by Clarence Lexow, documented corruption, vice protection, and election fraud, reformers took City Hall and Roosevelt imposed merit promotions, physical standards, and a single light, reliable revolver that simplified ammunition and upkeep.

Colt already supplied early police revolvers, including a popular .31 pocket model and a later .36 marketed to law enforcement.