Florence Police Store Illegal?

That is dangerous to allow people to purchase badges/patches etc. We look for those items as "proof" or confirmation that the policeman is - who he says he is. If a policeman came to my door and I asked for his badge before I let him in - where is the safegaurd that this is not one of these items?

WHAT IDIOTS! where would this need to be reported,or question the legalities of this at least,and NOT local either!
just makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy knowing any criminal out there can disguise himself an officer of the law thanks to our very own Florences' Finest.

If this is the website you are talking about...

http://www.florenceal.org/Police/Florence_Police/Merchandise/index.html

...then none of the merchandise sold here is illegal. They are not selling a badge, it's a badge pin (lapel pin), 1 1/2" tall. It's not a replica of the FPD badge, and it's not a "genuine" law enforcement badge, as Federal code prohibits the transfer of.

As far as the patches, they are collected and traded by thousands of people every day. There is no trademark or copyright that I know of on them, and essentially, they could be ordered by anybody who does business with a patch making company.

whew! thanks for the info Sk

quote:

Originally posted by Sassy Kims:
If this is the website you are talking about...

http://www.florenceal.org/Police/Florence_Police/Merchandise/index.html

...then none of the merchandise sold here is illegal. They are not selling a badge, it's a badge pin (lapel pin), 1 1/2" tall. It's not a replica of the FPD badge, and it's not a "genuine" law enforcement badge, as Federal code prohibits the transfer of.

As far as the patches, they are collected and traded by thousands of people every day. There is no trademark or copyright that I know of on them, and essentially, they could be ordered by anybody who does business with a patch making company.

I donot see any thing wrong with that site. The badges they have there are like the ones they give kids. I remember when my next door neighbor boy a long time ago was in an accident where his mama was driving and she had to go to the hospital and they gave him a badge and a stuffed bear. I remember looking at that badge with amazment and wanting one lol. Now I can have one and donot want it lol.

I was more concerned over the used Patches, I understand people collect them. But my concern was that they could fall into the wrong hands.

Anyone can get a police badge made if they know the right people. which I don't..lol

Maybe this is nothing to be concerned over

I did a little more checking and found that some states ban selling patches at conventions. I'm not sure what the difference is, but SK might know. If I saw an "officer" at the door with a patch, etc., I probably wouldn't look for the badge. We don't always think at times like that...

They are selling a badge "pin". As for the patches people collect them. You can get patches from all over the country from fire, police, to boy scout - just check e-bay.

quote:

Originally posted by Phoenix Rising:
They are selling a badge "pin". As for the patches people collect them. You can get patches from all over the country from fire, police, to boy scout - just check e-bay.

I'm aware they sell them on eBay--I have an eBay book store. I'm just concerned that our police department does it, incurring the posibility of liability, and further, does it on whose time?

This thread is a prime example of what sh*t gets started on this forum. People are wringing their hands and beating their breasts over this stuff sold by the PD. These are not real or even replica badges. Patches are sold and collected by people all over the country. Please tell me why you don't get as upset over kids and worse yet parents going to Toys-R-Us and WalMart and buying toy guns that look real so that they can play warmonger. I am sometimes God has not destroyed his creation simply because it is so dam*ed full of idiots. Clearly She is a merciful God.

I, being a person with enough little grey cells not to have to resort to gross vulgarities, do worry over such matters; however, the stores in the mall are all privately owned and my taxes do not go to support their operations or to pay damages in lawsuits they lose.

So if a guy pulls you over in a Ford Escort and flashes a 1 1/2" replica police badge I know a good lawyer who is also happens to be a member of Star Fleet Command.

Actually, one may check eBay and find that replicas (at least those sold there) can't be over 1" by 1". Different states have different laws. The best case scenario here is that the organization selling these (possibly) harmless items is using our taxpayer dollars to handle their mail. Possibly our tax dollars are going to do much more for them, as I mentioned in my earlier post.

I will inject here that, yes, we like those salacious posts, just judging by the views of a topic with FPD in the title and the previous one with Christmas Gifts in the title.

As far as the worst case scenario, I will take a page from Judge Bill Hanbury's book. When he first became Probate Judge of Lauderdale County, he one day encountered a group of somewhat mature ladies setting up tables in the courthouse lobby for a bake sale. When he asked what was going on, he was told it was the BPW (Business and Professional Women's Club) who had held semi-annual sales for years. He replied, "Well, now they don't." When asked why, he cited the fact that if one group could do it, so could a less desirable group, but the main objection was opening up the county for lawsuits. What is the cakes caused food poisioning or what if one of the ladies fell and sued the county. We live in a litigious society, and Florece and Lauderdale County leave themselves much too open for such suits. The Tower suit attorney settlement mentioned in Wed.'s TD is just another example and rightly deserves a separate post.

Ebay is not an authority on the strict interpretation of State, Federal or Local laws. Their prohibitation of the sale of certain items greatly exceeds any law on the books. It's their website and they can do it, but they are no defining example of trade laws.

Part of police work is public relations. I have no reason to believe these are being mailed to customers by on duty employees, but if they are, a few seconds of good will is worth way more than the salary used up in that time.