Police to preserve department history

The Colorado City Police Department is taking pride in Colorado City’s law enforcement heritage.

“We’re creating a display of police patches from all over the county and Colorado City badges and patches used over the years,” Ron Dooley, chief of police said.

One display board will hold police department patches from around the world, while a display case shows off the changes in Colorado City badges throughout the years.

The exchange of police patches is a long-standing tradition among officers, as well as members of the military. Visiting officers often swap their unit patch for one for Colorado City; although more distant departments made the swap through the mail.

The CCPD has collected unit patches from California to New York and as far away as the Philippines and New South Wales.

The display case of Colorado City badges also contains dispatch and animal control officer badges.
The display is the handiwork of Dispatcher Donna Overton and Chief Dooley.

“It’s interesting to see how the badges change over the years,” Dooley said. “They’ve gotten larger and more intricate.”

Unit patches also underwent transformation. Early patches of red with cotton gave way to generalized patches. Today the patches, once more, feature a red field with a cotton logo.

“Everyone is more than welcome to come check them out,” Dooley said.