Espantoon Reference Private

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

Espantoon

Espantoon Info/History

Webster's Third Edition: "An Espantoon In Baltimore, a policeman's stick" We would like to start out by saying we collect Nightsticks, Espantoons, Batons, Truncheons, Billy Clubs Etc. - If you have one for sale, or donation let us know as we are interested. For what might be obvious reasons we particularly like Baltimore style sticks, aside from their being the sticks carried by our brothers they also show a progression not just in what we carried, or had made, but what the department had made for us. While we like Baltimore sticks, we collect them all, from any state in the US to any country in the world. We hope to start a Baltimore Police Museum and would like to have as many we can to show what police have used for years to protect themselves and the public. Initially, it could be a rolling museum, and they will be used to show the differences over the years, as well to show how they wear, due to their having been carried everywhere with an officer over his or her career. As for the Museum, Commissioner Batts has promised us the old Headquarters Museum again, so as soon as possible we will be trying to get back into that museum, and able to show off our history to the public.

Wallpaper

Woodworkers that Turned Baltimore Espantoons
1939 / 2007

1939 / 1957 – Rev W. Gibbs McKenney - Made BPD Issue - Sold to Howard Uniform - 10,000 hickory 2,000 redwood over 20 yrs

1957 / 1977 – Rev. John D. Longenecker - Made BPD Issue - Sold to Howard Uniform - 10,000 hickory 2,000 redwood over 20 yrs

1955 / 1979 – Carl Hagen - Made BPD Issue & his own Stick - Sold to Howard Uniform and Officers - 2.000 various wood types over 24 yrs

1974 / 1977 – Edward Bremer - Made his own Stick – Sold to Officers - 300 various wood types over 3 yrs

1977 / 2007 – P/O Joe Hlafka - Made his own Stick - Sold to Officers and Police Supply Shops - 10,000 various wood types over 37 yrs

What makes a Baltimore Officer's Nightstick an Espantoon.
After years of using one, seeing them used and years of studying them, through
Photos, and conversation, I would say, it is the way we hold them. Knowing the nomenclature of the stick helps, so we'll include that information below
burrell Barrell

The Blue portion of the Espantoon is mistaken most often as the handle of the stick, This is actually
the striking end, it is called a Barrel Head, this too most likely comes as the result of an error
As in most Blunt force weapons, the striking end is called Burl Head. In the Tomahawk

1920's Baltimore Police Issue

21317920 10211220883901382 1881911624495296007 n

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Stick 1

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This has one edge shaved flat so it would stay in place without popping out every time we turn a sharp corner or hit a pothole.
The flat spot helps keep it in place when it's forced between the dashboard padding and the transmission hump.

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
There was a time in the mid 50's that officers would shave the Barrel Head of their Espantoon
Taking it from convex to flat/straight then add or re-cut grooves in the new Barrelhead

72 DSC5243

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This is another case of someone attempting to straighten the convex, "Barrelhead"

Issued Stick 1987

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker Model
Circa 2015

Non-Issue Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Stick 2

Non-Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This belonged to a family friend named Dorothy Wilham aka Aunt Dotty
Aunt Dotty was an older lady, she worked Security at Sparrows Point
When she gave it to my mother i was about 12 years old
and she told us it was a former City Police officer friend of hers

Carl Hagen turned sold through Howard Uniform
circa 1965

Carl Hagen

Carl Hagen

This is an early Carl Hagen Stick, it came while he was still turning them to the size of an issue stick, and isn't too far off of the standard issue stick, he just added a few things to make it stand out from the issue stick, and turned it from an oak.

1img169

P/O Wheatley holding a Carl Hagen Stick, notice how Carl rounded the top of his stick,

Carl Hagen
1955 - 1979
This is one of Carls first unique designs, it was done solely by him and became a popular design from his sticks. In the next pic, we'll see Officer Ray Wheatley holding a Carl Hagen Espantoon, it is more of an issue cut, but with a modern (at the time) cut, the cut that ended up being refined into the sticks we saw turned by Ed Bremer and Joe Hlafka.

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection
Carl Hagen Model
Circa 2015

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection Thin Blue Line Stick
Carl Hagen Model
Circa 2015

Prior to Issued Sticks 1954 - 1960
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Carl Hagen
At some point when McKenney had retired from turning sticks, he had donated his lathe and tools to a boy's school out west, and before meeting Reverend Longenecker, McKenney he had met Carl Hagen and showed him how to turn sticks, for whatever reason, Carl turned some sticks for Howard Uniform, he just didn't get the 500+ stick a year contracts from Howard Uniform that the Reverends McKenney & Longenecker received.

Carl Hagen
1955 - 1979

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection Lignum vitae #001 Stick
Lignum vitae is on top 10 lists of hardest woods
depending on the list it is either 2nd or 4th
One might be how dense the wood is, while the other might be
how dense the guy/gal is that is trying to spelling Lignum Vitae
Joe Hlafka Model
Circa 2015

Ed Bremer
1974 - 1977

Jim Brock
Edward Bremer Model
Circa 2015

1977 - 2007
P/O Joe Hlafka

Joe Hlafka

1987 - I bought this from Joe Hlafka direct apparently someone ordered it, paid half down and before it was done they found their stick and told Joe, they didn't need it anymore, could he sell it to someone for the remainder of the balance, I was the lucky guy that talked to Joe about a stick, and he gave me the stick for $12.00. I have replaced the thong twice, had it I say stolen once, the guy that took it, called it found. How you can find an espantoon in the trunk of a patrol car and not think it must belong to someone. Not to mention DRISCOLL is written around the stick in blue sharpie by the Ring Stop - Anyway, it is a 30 plus-year-old stick.

I turned this myself

1990 - I put the extra groove on the shaft because after carrying it for a day or two I realized the stick felt good, weight was nice, but the shaft was too think to hold on while swinging it, So I taped the thong to the Barrelhead with Duct tape, and put the stick back on the lathe. After shaving the shaft to a comfortable grip, I was done, pulled the tape and it was a spinner, or umm, I mean a winner,

72 irish DSC5119

Irish Shillelagh

This is to point out the striking part of this weapon, that blunt looking rock, or fist shaped portion at the end of this weapon and any blunt force weapon is called the "Burl Head". On the Espantoon the blunt striking end resembles and is often mistaken for the weapon's handle is called the "Barrel Head." Most likely stemming from a misunderstanding caused by Baltimore's southern drawl or bad "accent," causing a listener to misunderstand what a speaker may have said, Burl Head to thinking the speaker said, "Barrel Head." In 1987 when an old timer told me, he even pointed to the shape and, said, this is because this looks like a wine or whiskey barrel. Truth be told, it wasn't a barrel at all, it's a burl.

Truncheon

The Truncheon was not an American Nightstick, Daystick or Baton, and while one might think they would work perfect as a daytime stick. Most officers found simply cutting off an old espantoon worked best because of the way we were trained to use and Espantoon. A cut off version fit our training better than these other impact weapons.

72 DSC5234

A Daystick

During day work officers were not allowed to carry a nightstick, so they carried a shorter version that could be kept out of public view, Some officers were known to take an older nightstick, cut it down to about half it's normal length on the shaft and cary those during day shifts. During winter months these slipped into the officer coat pocket, summer months they slipped into the back pocket. Officers also carried, Blackjacks, and later Slapjacks.

Carl Hagen 1957 77s

Barrel Head

This is the Barrel or Burl Head of one of Carl Hagen's early sticks - This Rounded off top end was exclusive to Carl Hagen, and was found more on the West side of Baltimore than the East. The Eastside Espantoons saw more of a two or three tiered layers each with a hard edge that sat atop the espantoon like a crown on top the barrel head end of the stick. If we look at Carl's earlier stuff, he had a two or three-tiered top edge also, but it wasn't a hard edge. Carl had a super soft, smooth transition going tier to tier on the barrel head.

Ed Bremer 1974 77s

Barrel Head

This is the Barrel Head from one of Ed Bremer's early sticks, he put what he called a "Nib" on the top of all his Barrel head. Mr. Bremer felt he saved lives, both of Officers and Suspects because as he once said, "Nightsticks Save Lives, Preventing Officers from a need to escalate from hand-to-hand combat to the use of a firearm." The faster we can get a suspect into cuffs the safer it is for both the officer and the suspect. This stick is turned from Lignum vitae, a wood that was banned by the department as it was too heavy, hard and they felt could cause serious injury or death.

Some Reference Articles for Our Private Use

http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__1a.jpg
http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__2a.jpg
http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__3a.jpg
http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__4a.jpg

**** Theories are as plentiful in the word Espantoon as they are in just about anything police related, and there are a lot of theories!

Therefore we won't present anything in this section as fact, just something to think about.

Ideas, suggestions and theories that have come about from newspaper articles, and conversations with guys that have used them, collected, and studied them for years. Some of this will be covered throughout this page, but we will try to mention it and other ideas about the name(s) for Baltimore's baton in this section.

For many years there have been suggestions that Espantoon was a spelling error for Espontoon - A "Spontoon," also known by the variant in the spelling of "Espontoon" is a half-pike, a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in wide use by the mid 17th century, and it continued to be used until the mid to late 19th century. Others say Espantoon could have derived from the Spanish verb "espan·tar" which, is said to mean, "Frighten, Terrify, or to chase one off?" This theory has often been used, in fact, many Spanish-speaking researchers have suggested that it could be intentional; due to ESPANTO's meaning. So putting the two together we would have Espanto and spontoon which equals Espantoon a pike weapon made to scare. or chase off a potential threat. We will find elsewhere on this page how the Espantoon can end a threat just as the racking of a shotgun or growl of a K9. I am sure anyone that has ever drawn an Espantoon or Baton from a nightstick ring will tell you, the act of taking out the weapon will often stop a threat, or potential threat before ever having to be used.

Mispronunciations, in looking at the parts of the Espantoon. Starting with the striking end; for years everyone that knew the parts called this the "Barrel-Head." Old timers not only said it was the Barrel-Head but pointed out how it is convex and looks like a Barrel as a reason for it's receiving it's name. We are including a photo below of our "Nomenclature stick," in the photo the Barrel-Head is painted "Blue." This looks like and is often mistaken for the handle of our baton, however, for us [ Baltimore Police ] it is the "Striking" or "Jabbing" end. We hold it by the shaft, [ The section painted "Black" and labeled "Grip" ] which in other agencies, would be the striking end. If we were using the baton to jab, we would put our strong-hand on the lower end of the shaft, and our weak-hand just under the "Ring-Stop." With this, we could easily thrust the Barrel-Head forward [generally into the stomach] in a jabbing motion, hopefully ending their attack, or threat quickly and with little to no injury to ourselves of the adversary." ]

Oddly enough in other such blunt-end weapons, such as the "Irish Shillelagh" or the "African Knobkierrie" both having either a naturally formed or man-made blunt striking end. The defense-end on these weapons is called the "Burl head." Which raises the question; could it be that someone years ago, heard, or perhaps even said, "Burl-Head" but was misunderstood and believed to have said, "Barrel head?" After all, Baltimore has a mix of Southern and Northern accents that can often be misunderstood.

This mispronunciation brings us to another theory, in that perhaps Espantoon, isn't a misspelling of Espontoon, but a mispronunciation or misunderstanding of, "A spontoon." Said fast enough, and with a Baltimore accent that turned, Burl-Head into Barrel head; could give us Espantoon out of, "A spontoon."

Again, this is just theory, something to think about. Because after more than 200 years no matter how, or why it became an Espantoon, with a Barrel head; it is now and will remain an Espantoon, with a Barrel head.

If you look at most photographs, you'll notice officers carrying their espantoon with the barrel head out. This practice has been the way Baltimore police officers have carried their sticks going back to the late 1700's and the early 1800s. It is what makes a nightstick in Baltimore an espantoon. The espantoon, known as a nightstick in other jurisdictions, is a traditional symbol of authority for Baltimore police officers. Its unique design with the barrel (or burl) head carried outward, is for self-defense and crowd control. Its uniqueness is believed to have originated here in the late 18^th century and has been consistently followed by our police ever since. With the barrel head facing outward, it allows for quick and effective strikes, and or jabs while maintaining a non-threatening appearance. This longstanding practice showcases the rich history and traditions of the Baltimore police force. The distinctive carrying style has become an iconic feature of Baltimore's law enforcement history and also serves as a visual representation of their role in maintaining law and order while reflecting the city's deep-rooted connection to its policing heritage.

Donations

Donations help with web hosting, stamps and materials and the cost of keeping the website online. Thank you so much for helping BCPH.

POLICE INFORMATION

Copies of: Your Baltimore Police Department Class Photo, Pictures of our Officers, Vehicles, Equipment, Newspaper Articles relating to our department and or officers, Old Departmental Newsletters, Lookouts, Wanted Posters, and or Brochures. Information on Deceased Officers and anything that may help Preserve the History and Proud Traditions of this agency. Please contact Retired Detective Kenny Driscoll.

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Devider color with motto

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Please contact Det. Ret. Kenny Driscoll if you have any pictures of you or your family members and wish them remembered here on this tribute site to Honor the fine men and women who have served with Honor and Distinction at the Baltimore Police Department. Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222

Espantoon

Espantoon Info/History

Wallpaper

Woodworkers that Turned Baltimore Espantoons
1939 / 2007

1939 / 1957 – Rev W. Gibbs McKenney - Made BPD Issue - Sold to Howard Uniform - 10,000 hickory 2,000 redwood over 20 yrs

1957 / 1977 – Rev. John D. Longenecker - Made BPD Issue - Sold to Howard Uniform - 10,000 hickory 2,000 redwood over 20 yrs

1955 / 1979 – Carl Hagen - Made BPD Issue & his own Stick - Sold to Howard Uniform and Officers - 2.000 various wood types over 24 yrs

1974 / 1977 – Edward Bremer - Made his own Stick – Sold to Officers - 300 various wood types over 3 yrs

1977 / 2007 – P/O Joe Hlafka - Made his own Stick - Sold to Officers and Police Supply Shops - 10,000 various wood types over 37 yrs

1920's Baltimore Police Issue

21317920 10211220883901382 1881911624495296007 n

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Stick 1

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

72 DSC5243

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This is another case of someone attempting to straighten the convex, "Barrelhead"

Issued Stick 1987

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker Model
Circa 2015

Non-Issue Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Stick 2

Carl Hagen turned sold through Howard Uniform
circa 1965

Carl Hagen

Carl Hagen

1img169

P/O Wheatley holding a Carl Hagen Stick, notice how Carl rounded the top of his stick,

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection
Carl Hagen Model
Circa 2015

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection Thin Blue Line Stick
Carl Hagen Model
Circa 2015

Carl Hagen
1955 - 1979

Ed Bremer
1974 - 1977

Jim Brock
Edward Bremer Model
Circa 2015

1977 - 2007
P/O Joe Hlafka

Joe Hlafka

I turned this myself

72 irish DSC5119

Irish Shillelagh

Truncheon

72 DSC5234

A Daystick

Carl Hagen 1957 77s

Barrel Head
This is the Barrel or Burl Head of one of Carl Hagen's early sticks - This Rounded off top end was exclusive to Carl Hagen, and was found more on the West side of Baltimore than the East. The Eastside Espantoons saw more of a two or three tiered layers each with a hard edge that sat atop the espantoon like a crown on top the barrel head end of the stick. If we look at Carl's earlier stuff, he had a two or three-tiered top edge also, but it wasn't a hard edge. Carl had a super soft, smooth transition going tier to tier on the barrel head.

Ed Bremer 1974 77s

Barrel Head
This is the Barrel Head from one of Ed Bremer's early sticks, he put what he called a "Nib" on the top of all his Barrel head. Mr. Bremer felt he saved lives, both of Officers and Suspects because as he once said, "Nightsticks Save Lives, Preventing Officers from a need to escalate from hand-to-hand combat to the use of a firearm." The faster we can get a suspect into cuffs the safer it is for both the officer and the suspect. This stick is turned from Lignum vitae, a wood that was banned by the department as it was too heavy, hard and they felt could cause serious injury or death.

Some Reference Articles for Our Private Use

**** Theories are as plentiful in the word Espantoon as they are in just about anything police related, and there are a lot of theories!

Therefore we won't present anything in this section as fact, just something to think about.

Oddly enough in other such blunt-end weapons, such as the "Irish Shillelagh" or the "African Knobkierrie" both having either a naturally formed or man-made blunt striking end. The defense-end on these weapons is called the "Burl-Head." Which raises the question; could it be that someone years ago, heard, or perhaps even said, "Burl-Head" but was misunderstood and believed to have said, "Barrel-Head?" After all, Baltimore has a mix of Southern and Northern accents that can often be misunderstood.

This mispronunciation brings us to another theory, in that perhaps Espantoon, isn't a misspelling of Espontoon, but a mispronunciation or misunderstanding of, "A spontoon." Said fast enough, and with a Baltimore accent that turned, Burl-Head into Barrel-Head; could give us Espantoon out of, "A spontoon."

Again, this is just theory, something to think about. Because after more than 200 years no matter how, or why it became an Espantoon, with a Barrel-head; it is now and will remain an Espantoon, with a Barrel-Head.

POLICE INFORMATION

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Devider color with motto

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Lt Robert Wilson

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

Lieutenant Robert "Bob" Wilson

Bob Wilson joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1968, just as Baltimore was recovering from riots and major civil unrest. He was assigned to the Northern Police District, where he worked the streets until 1972, when he was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the Chief of Patrols Office. He later served as a Community Relations Sergeant in the Northern District until his promotion to lieutenant.

As a lieutenant, he was assigned as shift commander in the Northern District and then as commander of the Crime Resistance Unit.

Wilson was a member of the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners, the Maryland Crime Prevention Association, and the Maryland Crime Watch Steering Committee.

He earned Certified Protection Professional (CPP) status from the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) by demonstrating his mastery of security knowledge through job experience and academic prerequisites. Wilson was one of a very few police officers to achieve this status.

He is also a recipient of the Jimmie Swartz Foundation Medallion Award, which is recognized for his "humanitarian qualities and unselfish deeds."

During his tenure with the Police Department, Wilson received four official commendations, including the Unit Citation.

mounted 3 72 mounted 72 mounted 272

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199 1-18 and thank you for your service

POLICE INFORMATION

Copies of: Your Baltimore Police Department Class Photo, Pictures of our Officers, Vehicles, Equipment, Newspaper Articles relating to our department and/or officers, Old Departmental Newsletters, Lookouts, Wanted Posters, and/or Brochures. Information on deceased officers and anything that may help preserve the history and proud traditions of this agency. Please contact retired detective Kenny Driscoll.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Devider color with motto

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Please contact Det. Ret. Kenny Driscoll if you have any pictures of you or your family members and wish them remembered here on this tribute site to honor the fine men and women who have served with honor and distinction at the Baltimore Police Department.

Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist, like us on Facebook or mail pictures to 8138 Dundalk Ave., Baltimore, Md. 21222

Misc Pics page 4

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

Misc Pics
page 4

Courtesy Of retired Lt Bob Wilson

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Misc Pics Pg 1

More Misc Pics Pg 2

More Misc Pics Pg. 3

POLICE INFORMATION

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Devider color with motto

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pictures to 8138 Dundalk Ave., Baltimore, Md. 21222

10-50 Red

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

10-50 RED

We lost our Brother Flight Officer Barry Winston Wood

Aviation History Page Click HERE

Flight Officer Barry Winston Wood Click HERE

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO

On 4 November 1998 as Baltimore mourned the loss of Officer Harold Carey and hundreds of highly polished police cars formed a long procession that would lay him to rest, Barry Wood took to the skies over Pratt Street to answer another call for help. Minutes later, trainees directing traffic listened in disbelief as their radios crackled:

“Signal 13, a Signal 13, 1050 a RED, Foxtrot has Gone Down.” The wail of sirens pierced the crisp morning air, and officers raced to help, what had begun as a routine for call for assistance over Pratt Street ended with engine failure and a catastrophe. An attempt to land his aircraft with a maneuver called “autorotation”, Barry tried to touch down in the B&O Railroad Museum Parking Lot. Foxtrots tail rotor apparently struck either a power line, or a tree which changed the altitude helicopter and drove it into the ground, killing one of Baltimore’s finest. Though severely injured, Barry’s partner and aerial observer Mark Keller would survive the crash, most credit Barry with Mark’s survival, I am sure Mark leads the group of those that praise Barry in saving his life.

When the time came to lay Barry to rest, helicopters from many different agencies flew overhead in tribute as an officer below saluted his flag draped coffin. In the background, a speaker broadcast the dispatcher’s last call for him, “KGA to Foxtrot - KGA to Foxtrot - Foxtrot 10-5 not acknowledging.” The loss of flight officer wood profoundly affected every officer in the Baltimore Police Department because the Foxtrot fleet remained grounded during the extensive follow-up investigation, leaving Baltimore City’s Police Officers to face danger zone until a new fleet of aircraft arrived and resume the role of guardian angels.

As his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department we will not let him be forgotten, His service Honored the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department may he rest in peace, and may God bless him.

Flight Officer Barry Wood was killed in a helicopter crash. Flight Officer Wood experienced a catastrophic engine failure while answering a call for service over Pratt Street. Because of this mechanical failure, Flight Officer Wood attempted to land the aircraft with a technique called auto-rotation. It is speculated that Flight Officer Wood was attempting to touch down in the B & O Railroad parking lot when his tail rotor struck either power lines or a tree. This collision with a fixed object created a change in attitude driving the aircraft into the ground. Flight Officer Barry Wood’s partner, Aerial Observer Mark Keller survived the crash.

The Following are some heartbreaking pictures from the terrible day in Baltimore police history

fox2 fox4 fox5 fox6 fox7 fox8 fox9 fox10 fox11 fox12 fox13 fox14 fox15 fox16 fox18 fox19

POLICE INFORMATION

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Devider color with motto

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222

Baltimore City Police

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

Baltimore City Police

Station Locations

No.	Division	Location
	Headquarters	601 East Fayette Street
1	Central	500 East Baltimore Street
2	Southeast	5710 Eastern Avenue
3	Eastern	1620 Edison Highway
4	Northeast	1900 Argonne Drive
5	Northern	2201 West Coldspring Lane
6	Northwest	5217 Reisterstown Road
7	Western	1034 North Mount Street
8	Southwest	424 Font Hill Avenue
9	Southern	10 Cherry Hill Road

Police IDs

First digit is district, second character is shift, third is sector and fourth is post. 6A32 would be a Northwest midnight unit in sector 3 on post 2 and 2C23 would be Southeast evening unit in sector 2 on post 3.

Lieutenants are 09 and Sergeants are 10, 20, etc., 91 and 92 are wagons and 99 is desk. So, 2C23's Sergeant would be 2C20 and his Lieutenant 2C09. If a unit gets a warrant confirmation from 2C99, then 2C91 or 2C92 would do the transport. 200 would be the district Major.

Flex and District Ops units are numbered differently. They are numbered for each district as *1** and *2**. Northwest be something like 6117 or 6234. Again any number ending in 0 is a Sergeant and 09 a Lieutenant. Any numbers over *3** are Citywide units.

58xx is Crime Lab
84xx is Accident Investigation Unit
64xx is Homicide
65xx is Violent Crimes Task Force
76xx-78xx is Tactical (including Marine, EVU and Canine)
7620-7625 is Foxtrot
7811-7812 is EVU
93xx is Parking Control
95xx is Traffic Enforcement Section (civilians that direct traffic and write tickets)
96xx is Baltimore City Sheriff
97xx is Housing Authority of Baltimore City Police
98xx is Baltimore City Sheriff
99xx is Baltimore City Public Schools Police

10 Codes

All 10 codes, signals and disposition codes used by the Baltimore Police Department are also used by the following agencies: Housing Authority of Baltimore Police, Baltimore City Sheriff, Baltimore School Police, Public Works Traffic Enforcement Section (TES), Parking Control.

10-1 signal check
10-2 signal good
10-3 signal poor
10-4 acknowledgment/yes/okay
10-5 no aknowledgment
10-6 standby
10-7 out of service
10-8 in service
10-9 repeat last transmission
10-11 meet me at ______
10-12 no units available
10-14 non-emergency prisoner transport
10-15 emergency prisoner transport
10-16 backup request
10-17 phone station
10-18 go to district station
10-19 call ______
10-20 location
10-22 disregard
10-23 arrived on scene
10-25 stopping suspicious vehicle
10-26 switch to citywide channel (talkgroup)
10-27 drivers license info request
10-28 request vehicle registration information
10-29 check criminal records
10-30 wanted (person or vehicle)
10-31 crime in progress
10-32 sufficient units on scene
10-33 emergency
10-34 civil disturbance
10-35 major crime alert
10-36 description
10-37 request tow
10-38 request ambulance
10-39 police vehicle disabled
10-40 request crime lab
10-41 request impound truck
10-42 request animal shelter
10-43A traffic signal out
10-43B traffic signal red out
10-43C traffic signal not changing
10-43D traffic sign down
10-44 request permission to ______
10-45 permission denied
10-46 permission granted
10-47 negative
10-48 affirmative
10-50 helicopter landing
10-50-green Foxtrot okay
10-50-amber Foxtrot emergency
10-50-red Foxtrot down (crash)
10-61 activating body worn camera
10-62 deactivating body worn camera
10-90 looting
10-91 shooting
10-92 continued looting
10-93 continued shooting

Signal codes

Signal 13 officer needs assistance (urgent)
Signal 30 property damage accident
Signal 31 personal injury accident
Signal 32 accident with fatality
Signal 34 departmental accident
Signal 35 departmental accident with injury
Signal 36 departmental accident with fatality
Signal 40 Fire Department Needs Assistance

Disposition codes

Adam No - Unfounded
Baker No - No Such Address
Charlie No - Unable to locate complainant
David No - No Police Services Needed
Edward No - Gone on Arrival
Frank No - Abated
Xray No - Report number needed
Xray Yes - Domestic related and report number needed
Zebra No - False Alarm

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NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222

Baltimore Police Museum

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

Baltimore Police Museum
History of Maryland Law Enforcement

Colonial Maryland

Click HERE or above pic to see larger version

1785 Baltimore Warrant

Under English common law, every person had an active responsibility for keeping the peace. This was a vital principle in colonial Maryland, a fledgling society with no police or peace officers. The responsibility included crime prevention through vigilance and the apprehension of suspected lawbreakers by groups of persons raising the "hue and cry" or the more official "posse comitatus." Persons whose previous behavior indicated that they were at risk of breaking the peace could be taken before a local court or magistrate and bound over to keep the peace, thereby, in theory, preventing crime. Adapted from the British legal system were the positions of sheriff and constable, officers of the county court who also enforced the law. Sheriffs and constables had no jurisdiction outside their own county. As population increased, county and municipal police departments were created to meet local needs. In this warrant from 1785 written in Baltimore County to be served in a Baltimore City Bailiwick is one of the oldest arrest warrant written for Baltimore City -

Bailiwick - noun bai·li·wick \ ˈbā-li-ˌwik , -lē- \ - law enforcement: the office or jurisdiction of a bailiff (see bailiff 1a) : the sphere in which one has superior knowledge or authority: a special domain - concerns at the spy agency that the Pentagon is intruding into its traditional bailiwick.

The first half of the word bailiwick comes from the Middle English word for "bailiff," in this case a term referring to a sheriff or chief officer of a town in medieval England, not the officer who assists today in U.S. courtrooms. Bailiff derives via Anglo-French from the Latin bajulare, meaning "to carry a burden." The second half of "bailiwick" comes from "wik," a Middle English word for "dwelling place" or "village," which ultimately derived from the Latin vicus, meaning "village." (This root also gave us "-wich" and "-wick," suffixes used in place names like Norwich and Warwick.) Although "bailiwick" dates from the 15th century, the "special domain" sense did not begin to appear in English until the middle of the 19th century.

Arrest Warrant Dated 1785

Baltimore was formally designated a "Town" in 1729 and incorporated as a city in 1797. After the Revolution, Baltimore Town was the County Seat for Baltimore County and remained in that position until 1854. It was only in 1854 that Baltimore City enacted the position of Baltimore City Sheriff. Prior to that, the sheriff was, technically and practically, the sheriff of Baltimore City and County. So, prior to 1854, any court document from the Baltimore County sheriff would also apply to Balto. City for service or execution.

The Audley Safety Holster Company was established in the early 1900s, prior to 1905, by F. H. Audley who had previously been a Saddle, Harness, and Bootmaker. These were trades he had learned early in life as a young boy and developed over 30 in the Saddlery and Harness business.

Having started his own saddlery business in New York, at 2557 Third Avenue (Near 139th Street), in approximately 1876 and operating until 1885, F. H. Audley closed his business and went into business with Mr. P. H. Comerford remaining in Saddlery, Harness & Boot making. In 1891, Frank H. Audley went back into business himself and although making quality saddlery and boots, he struggled over the next 10 years until the turn of the century.

In the early 1900s, F. H. Audley moved his shop to 8 Centre Market Place, across from Police Headquarters and it was at this time he starting getting a lot of exposure to Police equipment. From this time, F. H. Audley filed many patents for various pieces of Police equipment which he developed and sold to many of the New York City Police Officers that utilized the services from his accessible location.

The most famous of these inventions was the Audley Safety Holster which F. H. Audley applied for patents in 1912 and they were approved on October 13, 1914. The holster incorporates a spring-loaded steel catch in the body of the holster which securely holds the pistol in place. It can only be released by using the index finger to depress the catch. It is virtually impossible for anyone other than the person wearing the holster to do this. No other retaining strap is required.

They were popular with many officers in WW1 and were also used by many American Police Departments. The Audley Company was taken over by the Folsom Arms Co., which in turn was absorbed by the Cortland Bootjack Co, and eventually became the Jaypee holster company. This particular model was probably used by a motorcycle or horse-mounted officer of the 1920-30 period.

Francis H. Audley Died in May of 1916 and by chance, I was able to find a copy of the Obituary from the New York Times May 11, 1916

Click on Pic to go to Capt. Forrest's page

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1BPD Lt Whyte 1st handheld radar gun used by bpd 2nd radar gun used by bpd 19 april 1861 B and O 1920s BPD Issue 2 1926 Trophy 1 1926 Trophy 2 1926 Trophy 5 69013086 2301345156848293 5851305565367566336 o before the 2 way mirror bell 3 bell bottom bell boat rental boc bod promotion notification front boys club 1 bpd 1st aid bpd ammo box 1 bpd awards 1 bpd awards 2 bpd awards 3 bpd awards 4 bpd awards 5 bpd bike squad bpd issue 1 bpd issued cuffs bpd issued safety vest bag bpd issued safety vest blue with raincoat bpd overall 1 bpd overall 2 bpd overall 3 bpd overall 4 bpd pens bpd press pass b bpd press pass f bpd taxi bpd ring brady 1947 brass state seal emblems mounted Breathalyzer 1 Breathalyzer 2 Breathalyzer 4 bugel hamilton c code light call bar key fob call box and cell block keys 2 call box keys call box police award with key gift from my brother cannon ball cell 1 cell 2 city hall hinge civil war 1 civil war 2 civil war 3 civil war 5 commissioner dress mess cov decals dess ness bpd det pic 1 det pic 2 det pic 3 directories display bpd Dputy Marshal Shoulder Board DSC 0140 72 duty belt espantoon 1 espantoon 1i espantoon 2 espantoon nomenclature explorer crossing guard fingerprint stand Flask Charles D Gaither frey watch 1 frey watch 2 frey watch 3 frey watch 4 frey watch 5 frey watch 6 frey watch 8 FuzzBuster or the first radar detector 1 go go stop stop hat 1800 hat house coat 2 house lable house houses coat 2 ht 1000 1 ht 1000 1i ice pick 1 ice pick 2 illistrated news 1 illistrated news 2 illistrated news 3 illistrated news 4 illistrated news 5 interview chair issued call box key issued espantoon 1 issued espantoon 2 jules Kneeboard sheet with lookout notes leather wrapped Nightstick Little Big Horn bpd hamilton louieville 2 louisville 1 mark keller knee board Marshal Carter Promotion certificate from when he made sergeant 1888 Marshal Shoulder Board motors helmet 1 motors helmet 2 motors helmet 3 motors mounted glove mounted pic moog mugshot placard Muhammad Ali with Capt Mello 2 Muhammad Ali with Lt Whyte ne schedule board Obituary for Sergt Benjamin Graham Line of Duty Died 16 June 1895 old radar kit parking meter 1 patch 1 patch 2 patch 3 patch 4 patch 5 patch 6 patch 7 patch 8 patch 9 phone books bpd phone booth 1 pith hat article pic 1935 police markings first 2 police 1956 rear trunk decal 1 police markings first 1 police markings first 5 polygraph print card 1 print card 2 print card 3 radar gun article radar gun used by bpd radios RAM case book recall lenses recall light 2 recruit poster riot helmet 2 riot stick bpd saddle sapps scan shot tower 1 shot tower 2 shot tower 3 shot tower drop mold 1 shot tower drop mold 2 spot light stable sign 2 stolen bike program swamp box tag bpd tag tags 1 taxi 2 taxi 3 thin blue line stick tint 1 tint 2 tint 3 vest vsa white mask wire phone 1 wire phone 2 wire

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Detective Retired Leo Smith

POLICE INFORMATION

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NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222

CZUR ET18-Pro Professional Document Scanner

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

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CZUR ET18-Pro Professional Document Scanner

Book/Document Scanner
THIS IS THE ONE WE USE FOR THE SITE AND OUR ARCHIVES

We did a fundraiser to get this book/document scanner. So we could have just set things up to just use a digital camera but then we would essentially just have pictures of the pages from a book, document, letter, notes etc. an it would take much longer, if we have to take the time to go over every page we might as well do it right the first time. Also I have digital cameras but by the time I buy light stands, camera stands etc it would cost a couple hundred dollars, and we wouldn't be taking advantage of the time we would be using to take a pic. So it would make more sense to buy a nice prosumer book scanner and do it right the first time.

We got this Prosumer Book Scanner that not only gave us pics, of the pages, but made the text editable, removed the curve from the page and gave us a more professional easy to use digital document. This will be helpful in cases where text might be illegible, too small to read or a weird font, in that we would be able to change the fonts, text color, text size etc. which is nice, but the ultimate plus in this would be that we would be able to take these old books, notes, letters programs etc and turn them into a searchable text. If we are looking for a particular officer, unit, year district etc, just enter that into the search bar and it would take us right to it. giving us the ability to find what we need from thousands of pages of information. We thought we had a ton of information sitting at our fingertips on this site, but with these documents and books we have here, we would be opening up and entirely new way of finding what we are looking for. On top of this we will be preserving the information for years to come by converting it to digital.

These camera/scanners cost in the neighborhood of $500 to $700 mid range to a $1500 2000 on the high end. For now I think it is wise to get a mid level prosumer camera/scanner and when I and get some cash I'll upgrade to a more high end as finances and necessity require us to upgrade. With software and add-ons I think we could end up needing closer to the somewhere between the $500 and $700 range. . If we can get a fundraiser going Patty and I will put in whatever extra is needed between donations and the final cost.

With this we will be able to add information we had only hoped to be able to add in the past. We have wanted a system like this, but also wanted to make sure we were not going to use anything that might harm the documents we have, so these touchless scanners seem to be the perfect took for the job.. I don't know what system we are going to go with yet, but an idea of what these scanners look like this is the basic idea There are cheaper units but the old saying you get what you pay for come to mind, and we are going to be putting this through its paces. we have hundreds of books and thousands of documents. we also want high quality resolution, so 18mp is going to give us quality.

201803212026566044

This has built in software that correct the curve in the page and separates this into two pages. You could also use it to scan large items, the lighting for assist in giving us better pictures. I have some items here that need to be photographed, but deserve better attention than to just shoot them with an iPhone. So we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. This is a scanner without a flatbed.

CZUR ET18-Pro Professional Document Scanner, 2nd Gen Auto-Flatten & Deskew Tech, 18MP Sony Camera

ET18-Pro offers word-class performance for high digitization requirement organizations, designing for situations where efficiency and convenience are the top priority. Embrace one sleek and incredibly compact unit for all your document scanning needs: in color, black & white or grayscale at swift speeds and faultless quality. Applied the breakthrough technology- 2nd Gen Laser Curve-Flattening, ET18Pro provides tremendous curve page flattening ability and ultra fast (1.5s/p) scanning speed. Smart Combining and Separating pages at your disposal.

Patented Flattening Curved Book Page Technology: ET18 Pro applies CZUR’s latest technology to flatten the 3D curved surface after pixel transformation to complete flattening of the book page.
18MP Sony Camera, Easy and Fast: Embedded 18MP Sony Camera and with the 1.5 S/P scanning speed, ET18 Pro can easily finish scanning a 300 page book within 10 min, which is 10 times faster than traditional scanner. Thanks to the Auto-Scan Tech, it is even easier to scan documents and books. All you need to do is just flipping pages. The foot pedal is also recommended as a way to trigger the scanner.
A3 & A4 Applicable: ET18 Pro is friendly to both A3 & A4 Format materials, or any size in between. Perfect choice for exam papers, blueprints, magazines, catalogs, and even large books without a problem.
Supplementary Lightning: 2 High-Quality supplementary lights are added to ET18 Pro, making it possible to scan glossy papers (recommend to turn off the overhead light, only use side lights).
Life Free Powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software: Life-time FREE SOFTWARE UPDATES, able to read 186 languages, allowing you to edit your scanned materials right after scan (crop, adjust sharpness, contrast, thickness, etc). Any materials can be converted into EDITABLE PDF,WORD,TIFF and automatically stored. You can even use our SOFTWARE convert and edit imported document materials. For an open book, the software can automatically separate or combine the 2 open pages after scan

We have been using this for a few years now and it has been great, we highly recommend this, while we have not tried it personally we have seen people that lift the stand up higher than it is intended to be used and scanned larger books, so for what we need it, we recommend it, for what others did, shooting it off the side of table to the floor for larger format books, that works too.

POLICE INFORMATION

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NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Baltimore Police Service Ribbon

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

Baltimore City Police Historic Society's

Service Ribbon

Baltimore Police Historical Society's BPD Service Ribbon

If we look around at various vets, we'll notice many of them wear some sort of Combat Ribbon patch, These patches tell us what campaigns they were involved in, and while it is a nice way for us to know where they served and give them a quick thanks for their service, it is more important for them to be able to look out and see a brother or sister that served in the same campaign or campaigns that they did. A few years ago and over the last few years, we had conversations with various members of the Baltimore Police Historic Society and designed our own Baltimore Police Service Ribbon. Our hope is that our retired and active will wear a patch on a ball cap, stick a decal on their rear car window, so when we see one of our brothers or sisters, we'll know of the service they gave and the sacrifices they and others have made. Service of any length past probation, as long as they are either in good standing with the department, or left/retired in good standing.

The Baltimore City Police Service Ribbon

1f awards full color

The Baltimore City Police Service Ribbon is a symbol of service, sacrifice, dedication, unity, and honor. It is a fitting tribute to the brave officers of this agency. This is why we put it together, added thought to the number of sections, the colors and placement of those sections. Our officers deserve to be recognized for their hard work, dedication and honor. That is what the Baltimore Police Service Ribbon does; it recognizes all those who have served with honor.

service ribbon mock up back of card with outline Meanings of The Design in Our BPD Service Ribbon

1a awards grey

Under the muted gray, we can see where we are going. There will be nine vertical stripes in four different colors, each having a symbolic meaning:

1b awards orange

We'll start with the four "orange" stripes because our agency originally started with just four districts. Also, orange goes back in our history for everything from the Calverts to our first commendation ribbons. We initially started using orange due to an error with the printer. The order was written up calling for "Or" and "Sable." The printer, thinking "Or" was an abbreviation for "orange," used orange, but "Or" is a "golden-yellow" color that is found in the Calvert family quarters of the Maryland flag. "Sable" is "Black," also found in the Calvert quarter of the Maryland flag.

1c awards black

The "black" stripe is in memory of our fallen officers. Not all of our fallen officers were recognized over the years, and we are still finding officers who died while working, from work-related injuries, or from illnesses that were not added to the list of Baltimore's known fallen officers. I think the department recognizes somewhere around 140 or so. We found more than 200 fallen Baltimore City officers and have them all listed on this site.

They can be found HERE

1d awards red

The "Red" stripes are to remind us of our injured and disabled. We have some of our injured listed on the site HERE, but they are not sent to us by the department; the only way we can list them is if the injured officer, their family, friends, etc. send us their information. The majority of the information on this website came from Bill Hackley's previous website, along with some names that P/O Bobby Brown sent to us and, as previously mentioned, additional names that family members, friends, and some former partners of our injured officers sent to us. If you would like to be added or know someone who should be added, send their name and as much information as you can gather to Kenny at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1e awards blue

The "Blue" stripes on the ends represent loyalty and are for the men, and women who wear or have worn the uniform of a Baltimore City Police Officer. Also, the "Blue" is on the ends to show that our officers are what hold it all together.

1f awards full color

Putting it all together, we have a unique Baltimore City Police Service Ribbon that will not only let us know when we are seeing another of our brother or Sister officers, but will also serve as a reminder of our Department's History, our Service, our Injured, and our Fallen.

1 black devider 800 8 72

Military Campaign Ribbons - Military Campaign Ribbon were first instituted and presented to recognize general military service in war, in contrast to meritorious decorations, which were only issued on a small scale for acts of heroism and bravery. The campaign ribbons were issued first by the British military with the medal awarded for the defeat of the Invincible Armada, with the 1815 Waterloo Medal being the first awarded to all men present and the 1847 Military General Service Medal being the first "modern" campaign medal.

Baltimore City Police Historic Society', Service Ribbon - Our BPD Police Service Ribbon is an award provided for individuals who took an oath to serve and protect the citizens of the City of Baltimore while sworn as a Baltimore Police Officer. To be eligible, one would have to have completed their service in any length past probation, as long as they are either in good standing with the department, or left/retired in good standing. If any of our Officers were forced to leave early, it would have had to be for good cause.

NOTE - As long as any early departure from our agency was NOT due to a termination, or any reason that would tarnish the reputation of our agency, our officers, badge or uniform,. As we all know, our badge means so much to many, therefore, in cases of early departure, and the eligibility to display this ribbon will be considered on a case-by-case basis. But to be clear, as long as an officer was not forced to leave, charged with a crime, they are and should be not just eligible but able to wear this with pride. Leaving for a different agency, for family or just moving on is fine, so long as your service was respectful and leaving was on good terms.

Background - While out and about, I am sure we have all seen members of our armed forces proudly displaying some sort of service, or campaign ribbons on their cap, or jacket via a patch, or on their vehicle by way of decal/sticker. These representations of their Service Ribbon are a way of letting other military personnel, active or retired, know what campaigns, and battles the person displaying them had been involved in, or served in. In this age of police haters, a thin blue line is not enough, we should have more. So The Baltimore Police Historic Society started not only working on making such a ribbon for our police, a ribbon that will not only let our brothers and sisters know we served but it also serves as a way for our fallen and injured to continue on in our memories, making sure that will never be forgotten.

Meaning - In order for any ribbon to have true meaning, it should have some kind of symbolism within the ribbon. Our Baltimore Police Historic Society's Service Ribbon was designed with that in mind. It was made up of a standard-size commendatory ribbon with nine vertical stripes. The nine stripes were added, one for each of the nine districts in place at the time of its creation. The four orange stripes are representative of our first four districts, the color used is orange and is there to represent the Calvert Family's Coat of Arms. On each end of the ribbon, we've added a vertical blue stripe. Blue stands for unity, and represents all of our police, past and present; being on the ends of the ribbon shows how our police have stood their ground, holding everything together. The two red stripes signify those members of our agency that have been seriously injured on the job, and then we have a single black stripe which has been placed prominently down the center of the ribbon, it is wider than any of the other stripes and made to have us all see it with hopes of either automatically thinking of and remembering our fallen, or asking questions about our fallen, Either way, it will aid in keeping our fallen brothers and sisters alive in our memories.

Like the Vietnam Service Ribbons and other Campaign Ribbons issued to our service members, the Baltimore Police Historic Society's Ribbons will honor all who have taken the oath of our agency, those that have displayed our patch on their shoulders, pinned on our badge, and patrolled our streets while looking for anyone that might be put with intentions of violating the rights of the citizens that live in the city of Baltimore
AE 15738 Sample copy 72

Over the past 20 years, I have seen nothing but pride and honor from our retired and active police for the service they have provided or still are providing to our city. So, we at the Baltimore City Police Historical Society put our heads together and designed our own Baltimore Police Service Ribbon. Our ribbon will be put on baseball caps, decals, patches, t-shirts and other items such as buttons, mugs, pens, challenge coins etc. with a goal of allowing us to show our pride. Now more than ever we need to show our pride, and hold our heads up in a way that will allow us to know who we are and what we have done. We made these very subtle. Even the patch, while it clearly says “SERVED WITH HONOR” “BALTIMORE CITY POLICE” the average person not seeing a Police Shoulder Patch, or Police Badge will look right past this. Still our active, and retired will know who we are, and the pride we earned will be shown to those who it matters most.

The design seen above has meaning. we will, and have gone over the meaning of every line, and color on the ribbon. Therefore, if you served on the Baltimore Police Force and left in good standing, you earned the right to wear the Baltimore Police Service Ribbon. Like other Service/Campaign Ribbons worn by members of the armed forces that did their service in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq etc. Baltimore Police Officers have not only earned a right to display such a ribbon, but they should wear it, and wear it with both pride and honor. In short, it has 9 sections for the 9 districts, 4 are Orange for the initial 4 districts we started out with, there are 2 Red for our inquired, 1 Black for our fallen, and the 2 Blue on the ends are for all of our police that hold everything together.

Ironing Instruction

Set Iron, or heat press to 350 degrees, align your patch on the hat, jacket or shirt, heat transfer tape would be best to hold the patch in place while ironing/pressing. With Iron/press heated to 350 degrees, press for 30 seconds. Once the iron/press is removed from your hat, jacket or shirt, wait a few seconds, we normally wait 10 or more seconds to allow the patch to cool down some, so it doesn't shift while moving it.

Note you might find, "Heat Transfer Tape" listed as any of the following on Amazon... Heat Tape, Heat Resistant Tape, Heat Transfer Tape, Thermal Tape, Sublimation Tape, Heat Vinyl Press Tape, No Residue, or High Temperature Tape. It's about $4.00 a roll, but can be used on most patches, as long as the patch has an iron backing. We normally have all of our patches made with the iron backings, as that backing also helps to preserve the patch due to the thick rubber like backing.

Decals

For now we have access to decals that are 4" x 1.9" that we thought would be just a little larger than a 2x4 as we look at it from the end. But like a 2x4 its more like 3.5" by 1.25" We'll eventually have patches made, and maybe even an actual ribbon for use in a shadow box with all of the other ribbons we've earned over the years.

Decals are $3.00 Each with No Shipping Costs They are basically a fundraiser to help keep the site going, research paid for Servers, domain names etc. We are not looking to turn a profit from the site, truth be told, making money is more of a headache than it is worth, so every penny that comes through any of this goes toward paying in advance for servers, domain names and Newspaper Archives. We have been approached several times by those saying they could help us bring in the kind of funds that would even be enough to put together a salary for those running the site, Ken has turned that down every time, The nightmares of filing taxes is more than he wants to deal with considering this is only his hobby, something he doesn't want to turn into a job. So if anyone is interested in helping pay for the servers (we use two, one for the site, and one for the extra large pic files mainly newspaper articles, large enough to read) but if you want to contribute, send a donation, or buy a decal, patch or anything else you might like.

https://www.paypal.me/BPDHistory

NOTE: We are also having decals made of the most common ribbons, the Commendation Ribbon, Distinguished Service, Life Saving Award, Bronze Star, Silver Star, Medal of Honor, Citation of Valor, Unit Citation, 1968 Riot Ribbon, and Safe Driving Awards. These will look nice in a shadow box, or on the back window of our cars. Again, most people won't know what they mean, but when we look on if nothing else, we'll know it's one of our brother or sister officers.

We’re excited to introduce our new Baltimore Police Ribbon, a symbol of service, honor, and dedication that has been recognized for nearly three years. As we transition it into an official uniform style ribbon, we understand that purchasing one’s own ribbon might feel unusual.

To address this, we’re introducing a unique approach where we can buy these ribbons for each other. Here’s how it works:

Any officer can contribute funds to purchase as many ribbons and certificates as they wish.
These funds will be used to send ribbons to other officers who have also contributed to the purchase of as many ribbons and certificates as they want.
The process will be initiated by Ken, who, as the president of the historical society, will purchase a ribbon for the first officer who contributes and hasn’t been covered by other contributors. So, if an officer contributes but hasn’t yet received a ribbon, Ken will cover the cost of their ribbon and send them one.
That said, if you have no concerns about buying the ribbon for yourself, or if a spouse wants to buy it for you, we have no issues with that. We believe we should all be proud of the service, honor, and dedicated service we provided. Most of us have scars that will last the rest of our lives, some of those scars are visible, some are not.

With this, we don’t have to buy our own ribbons. Instead, we’re acknowledging each other’s service to the Baltimore Police Department and to the city of Baltimore. The ribbon becomes a symbol of recognition from the rank and file: police, for police—the way it has always been.

We can maintain a list of officers who have received ribbons. If you know of an officer who should have one but hasn’t been listed as having received one, you can sponsor that officer, and we’ll send the ribbon to you so you can get it to them, or if you have an address, we can send it directly.

Remember, this isn’t just about the ribbons. It’s about acknowledging the service, honor, and dedicated service each of us has provided to the Baltimore Police Department and to the City of Baltimore. Let’s make it a symbol of our unity and shared commitment to having served Baltimore with honor.

For each donation, a 5x7 certificate on card stock and a ribbon will be sent to one of our retired or active police officers. Those who served the department but didn’t retire are eligible as long as they left on good terms.

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P/O Walter Hogan

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

A Tribute to the Grandfather of Robin Hogan Gatton

Walter Hogan 1

My grandfather Walter Hogan was a great man. He served as a fireman and saved people from burning buildings. I know this because there are articles written about him in the Baltimore Sun. my father has them. Someday they will be passed down to me & my girls.

He also served as a Baltimore City officer. He retired in the late 60's. He served the city as an impound officer, on horseback, motorcycle (shown) and as a beat officer on the block. My dad gave me everything except his badge and his gun of his uniform. I suspect he will pass them down when he is gone. I even have his uniform from impound days on the tow truck. I thought about donating them to a police museum ... if you know of one let me know.

I watched him personally take down thugs grabbing jewelry and watches from folks in cars (there was no ac in cars yet so windows were down, making them easy targets stopped at a light) on 33rd Street and Alameda .. in front of his home. He acted like there were several men coming after the thugs ... yet it was only him. He hollered for my grandma to call the cops to pick them up as I watched where he chased them too (the college grounds) from the safety of their porch. he would call out Frank you go this way ... Herbert You go that way and I will go this way. LOL ... he was truly something.

It is also my understanding he ran a street car. Which is where he met my grandma. Also owned a small grocery store with his brothers ... John Hogan and Edward Hogan during the depression. They went belly up because they wouldn't let folks go hungry and gave them credit to get food. Somewhere in there he worked as a chauffeur for a wealthy family. I remember he told me the lady was mad because he ate a piece of cake. She treated him like a dog so he quit. He wasn't one to speak unkindly about people.

Walter Hogan 2

I spent a lot of time in the city with my grandparents. Grandpa worked at the stadium when the Orioles played home games. Grandmom and I would walk the 3 blocks to get in and watch the game. We got to sit right behind home plate. I never got to catch any pop flies cuz there was a net there. So my grandpa would take me down to meet the players. Such fun I had. They were all great guys. They came to my school in Pikesville ... St. Charles. I told the kids I knew the players and they were like ... yeah sure ... ok ... whatever. When the guys came in they all said hi to me and held a conversation that made it clear they knew me. I felt so important. It was great.

I am proud to be his only grandchild. He was truly a great humanitarian. I cherish all of my great memories with him and my grandma. he taught me so much about giving back to community. I do hope I am making him proud with my community work helping those less fortunate and cooking for a soup kitchen 4 days a week.

I just wanted to share this great man with you. I love him and miss him so much.

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Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222

General MacArthur’s Hat

Baltimore Police Historical Society Uncategorised 17 April 2025

MacArthur 3

Gen. MacArthur’s Hat

World War II generals certainly were some very egotistical people. Often, the job of generaling was just as much about fashion and appearance as it was warmaking. For example, Gen. Patton was famous for carrying his ivory handled single action cowboy six shooters, Soviet generals were notorious for covering their uniforms with copious amounts of medals, Japanese generals carried katanas despite the fact that little sword fighting occurred during the war, and German generals were perhaps the most professional and disciplined looking of World War II generals. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was certainly a man who built an image of himself that would become a legend of the war with his oversized corn cob pipe, aviator sunglasses, and his very ostentatious generals hat. The origins of his hat has always puzzled me. It certainly is not your standard US Army officers caps. So what modifications were made to MacArthur’s headwear and why did he wear it?

MacArthur 1

In 1936 MacArthur was the commander of all US forces in the Philippines with the rank of Major General. It was in this year that he would retire from the US Army, but retirement did not mean that his military career was over. Immediately after retirement, Filipino President Manuel L. Quezon hired MacArthur as a military adviser and commissioned him with the rank of “Field Marshal of the Philippine Army”. Of course, this was more of an honorary title as the Philippines didn’t really have a organized military. MacArthur certainly enjoyed styling himself a field marshal, the highest military rank that can be achieved, but he did not have the uniform, especially the hat, of a proper field marshal. So MacArthur made some modifications to his officer’s crush cap, adding a row of embroidered gold leaf that circled around the hat and a row around the visor. He also preferred a gold embroidered US insignia over the standard brass insignia.

When World War II began MacArthur’s commission as the US Army officer was reinstated. Later, he was promoted to the rank of “General of the Army”, denoted by five stars, it was the American equivalent of a field marshal. Throughout his command in World War II and Korea, he continued to wear his “Philippine Marshal’s Cap” despite the fact that it was technically against US Army regulations. Of course, there were few people with the rank or prestige to call him out on it.

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How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222