A badge is more than a piece of shiny hardware on a policeman's uniform.
It's a symbol of honor, integrity and character.
"A badge is extremely important to all of who have ever worn the uniform and taken an oath of office," said Superior Police Chief Floyd Peters. "When we wear our badge for the first time, we take our oath of office ... committing to our agency and our community."
When Officer Brian Davis of Duluth, Superior's newest police officer, takes that oath this afternoon, he will be the first to make that pledge with a custom badge designed to reflect Superior's character and history.
The new badge, which officers started wearing Thursday under a directive from Peters, will be unveiled to the community during the Superior Police Department's annual awards and swearing in ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday in the Government Center Board Room. The public is invited to attend the ceremony and reception that follows in the atrium.
ADVERTISEMENT
Capt. Chad La Lor, one of the officers involved in the redesign, plans to present a short history of the city's badges from the six-pointed star worn when the department was establish in 1884 to the eagle-topped badges worn since the 1920s. Many of them are collector's pieces owned by Superior Police Detective Kirk Hill, La Lor said.
"What is the biggest thing that symbolizes a cop -- it's their badge" La Lor said. "You talk about the honor in the badge. It really symbolizes being an officer and having a badge that really has more significant ties to Superior, to individual officers by having their numbers back on them again -- it's just more of a sense of pride in the badge."
It's the first time in almost 40 years officers' badge numbers will appear on the city's law enforcement emblem.
"It brings in more individuality for the officers," La Lor said.
"These are cookie-cutter badges," Peters said of the ones worn since 1969. He said it's a universal badge worn by many other Wisconsin law enforcement agencies -- only the name of the agency or community changes.
"Several years ago, police officers approached me and the staff about designing and creating a new kind of badge," Peters said. "I think the thought was 'we're proud of the work we do. We're proud of the community we serve. We'd be proud to have a custom badge that more uniquely defines our community' rather than just the generic badge."
Then earlier this year, a committee of officers, which included La Lor, Hill, Sgt. John Kiel, and officers Brad Esler and Gary Gothner, formed a committee to design the new badge.
The design is an oval with a sunburst, similar to those used by the Los Angeles Police Department, but that's where the design becomes uniquely Superior. The badge features the year the city incorporated, 1889, and the Wisconsin Point lighthouse flanked on the left by the Edmund Fitzgerald and the engine of a train built in 1889 on the right, is superimposed over the star burst, representing Superior's long history as a port and railroad community.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Something I'm really proud of is this is a joint labor-management effort and our union is paying for half of project of purchasing the badges for the officers," Peters said.
In addition to the unveiling, the ceremony recognizes Kiel's promotion from the detective bureau to patrol sergeant earlier this year.
And several officers will be recognized with letters of commendations, distinguished service awards, a lifesaving award, meritorious conduct awards and letters of appreciation.
"There will be a couple civilians recognized for volunteer work and a city employee for help provided in a case," Peters said.
The honors ceremony was developed and launched in 2005.
"When you hear the hair-raising, heart-pounding stories behind some of these incidents ... my desire is recognize that work," Peters said.
