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History of the FOP
In 1915, two Pittsburgh police officers, Martin Toole and Delbert Nagle, tired of long hours and poor working conditions, decided to form a group to provide fellow officers with some form of representation. On May 14, 1915 those two officers along with 21 others met for the first time at the Wabash Station Building, at the corner of Terry Street and Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was at that first meeting that the name; Fraternal Order of Police was adopted. “Twenty Three” was adopted as the password in recognition of the twenty-three men who realized they were sticking their necks out. From those humble beginnings the Fraternal Order of Police has grown into the largest professional police organization in the United States with over 325,000 members and growing!
In 1968, the governments of the City of Jacksonville and Duval County were consolidated into one government known as the City of Jacksonville, Florida and FOP Lodges 5, representing city officers, and 30, representing county officers, were consolidated into one lodge to be known as the Fraternal Order of Police Jacksonville Consolidated Lodge 5-30. Today, Jacksonville Lodge 5-30 represents more than 3,000 active and retired law enforcement officers and is the 7th largest lodge in the country.
The FOP Emblem
The five-cornered star is to remind us of the allegiance we owe to the American flag.
The three colors Blue, Gold, and White signify the official colors of the Fraternal Order of Police. In the Blue field, in the lower left hand corner is the open eye, the eye of vigilance, the ever watchful eye, which notes the danger, and offers protections to the public. In the Blue field in the lower right corner is the handshake, this denotes Friendship.
The Circle surrounding the Star, indicates our never ending efforts to promote the welfare and advancement of this order, and within its bounds we are a one great and powerful unit. In the circle over the centerpiece is our Motto, written in Latin, Jus-FIDUS-Libertatum, Jus meaning Justice, Fidus meaning Friendship and Libertatum means Equality. The center of the Star is the seal of Fort Pitt. This reminds us of where the first lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police was chartered in 1915, Fort Pitt Lodge #1.
The purpose of the Fraternal Order of Police is to bring the highest quality of life to our members and the community we live in. We will push for fair and equitable working conditions and salaries to attract the best people to perform the stressful and often thankless job of being a professional police or corrections officer. We will continue to support our community by supporting charitable organizations and projects, which enhance the quality of life for all citizens of Duval County.
We, the law enforcement officers of the United States and of the several states and political subdivisions thereof, as representatives and delegates of state and subordinate lodges, do hereby associate the several lodges we represent and the members thereof for the following purposes:
To Support and defend the Constitution of the United States; to inculcate loyalty and allegiance to the United States of America; to promote and foster the enforcement of law and order; to improve the individual and collective proficiency of our members in the performance of their duties; to encourage fraternal, educational, charitable and social activities among law enforcement officers; to advocate and strive for uniform application of the civil service merit system for appointment and promotions; to support the improvement of the standard of living and working conditions of the law enforcement profession through every legal and ethical means available; to create and maintain tradition of esprit de corps insuring fidelity to duty under all conditions and circumstances; to cultivate a spirit of fraternalism and mutual helpfulness among our members and the people we serve; to increase the efficiency of the law enforcement profession and thus more firmaly to establish the confidence of the public in the service dedicated to the proctection of life and property.
“Through organization we have the freedom of mutual interchange of thought and information, and the experience of each become common to all, which results in a higher development of our intellectual, moral and social faculties; and which enables us to share in the gains and honors of advancing civilization”.
Page Last Updated: Jan 29, 2015 (07:28:51)