Ridgeville Township was first settled in 1810 by settlers from Waterbury, Connecticut. The township was organized in 1813 and remained ""Ridgeville Township"" until 1958, when it was incorporated as a village. During this time, various types of police protection, which included Constables, Deputy Sheriff's, and the State Highway Patrol, had been utilized. In August of 1960, the population was sufficient to allow the township to become the City of North Ridgeville, at which time a new city council was formed, and a permanent police department replaced the previous Township Constable.
The first officer appointed was Emory C. Hershey, who had served as Constable from 1944 until 1959, and served as Chief of Police from 1960 until 1965. The first Patrolman, Thomas P. Richards, was appointed in October of 1959. At that time, the police department did not even have its own police car, and both Hershey and Richards used their own private vehicles as patrol cars.