Badges Of The Azusa Police Department

Through the years, our badges have changed based on the times and the cities status. From a township patrolled on horseback to the city of today, see the badges worn by the law officers of Azusa.

The Deputy Constable Azusa TWP (Township) Badge

#H 4 is the oldest known Azusa badge. It pre-dates Azusa becoming a city. Azusa became a chartered city in 1898. There is no Hallmark on this badge. We have not been able to authenticate this badge, however we believe it is genuine. Law enforcement for the residents of Azusa Township was left up to the Los Angeles County Sheriff until the early 1880’s. The problem was that they could not always be counted on since it was a day’s ride on horseback to get from Los Angeles to Azusa. The first known Constable was J.C. Preston who was responsible for basic law enforcement duties.

This was an elected, unpaid position, and Constable Preston worked out of his house. He was elected in 1889. This style of badge was common for this time period. We have seen several of these badges with the only difference being the name of the township.

The Deputy Constable Star Badge

The star badge has a Chipron, L.A. hallmark. Chipron made badges from 1892 to 1968. This badge was authenticated by Frank Williams. There are two other silver Constable badges in existence. Both have a single digit number. The elected Constables did appoint other Deputy Constables to assist them. These badges were used during the late 1800’s. The city museum has one of these badges.

The Azusa City Marshal Badge

The first known city Marshal appointed in Azusa was Jeff Bryant in the early 1900’s. Marshal Bryant worked with Constable Bill Hamblin who was a Constable from 1895 – 1935. We're not clear why the city would have a Marshal position instead of an additional Constable. We assume that the Constable remained an unpaid position and the growing need for a full time Law Enforcement Officer necessitated the need for a Marshal which was a paid position. 

The Deputy Marshal Badge

This badge was most likely used to instantly deputize someone when the city Marshal needed assistance with a problem in the city.

The Silver Deputy Marshal Badge

This silver Deputy Marshal Badge #3 has a Chipron, L.A. hallmark. The city museum has the same style badge with a single digit number which authenticates this badge. We do not know why there are two different Deputy Marshal badge styles or which one was used first.

The Deputy Marshal - Night Patrolman Badge

This badge has a Rubber Stamp Co. Los Angeles hallmark. This is one of several variations of their hallmark. L.A. Rubber Stamp Co. made badges from 1884 to 1935. This badge is a five point silver star with applied ball tips. This badge is believed to be authentic based on the hallmark, pin, and general design. During this time period it was common for cities to have a Marshal who worked during the day and would be called out when the need arose. As the need for law enforcement increased, cities would hire additional Deputy Marshals to assist the Marshal. This unique rank of Night Patrolman was most likely the result of local merchants paying for a Deputy Marshal to patrol their businesses during the night.

Our History

From patrolling in tan and green uniforms to a one-man detective bureau, the department began to take shape.

The Early Years

During the 1920's, the police station was located in city hall, on the west side of Alameda Avenue in the 700 block. In 1934, during the height of the depression, Sam Bierbower was appointed Chief of Police. His department boasted two patrol cars, one of which was a distinctive all-white Ford Model A Touring Car. Chief Bierbower had the officers wear tan and green uniforms. 

In 1935, the department got one-way radios for its cars. There was only a receiving unit in the car and the calls were dispatched from the Pomona Police Department, 10 miles away. By this time, City Hall was on the east side of Alameda Avenue in the building now referred to as the "West Wing," and it included both the Police and Fire Departments.

Harry Chester was the Chief of Police from 1937 to 1938. Little is known about Chief Chester's tenure, but it is said that he had no police experience and simply held the department together until a permanent chief could be hired.

The 1940s

Fred Williams was appointed to chief in 1938, after having started with the department in the early 1930s. He joined as a full-time officer in 1934 when there were only four officers on the force. Chief Williams introduced two-way radios in 1944, which, at the time, was a significant technological advancement.

From 1944 to 1949, Chief Milo Hawkins commanded the department, when one of the major concerns was traffic in the City. The now historic Route 66 (Foothill / Alosta corridor) was heavily traveled, especially on weekends.

The 1950s and 1960s

Chief Al Kenderick was promoted to chief from the rank of patrolman in 1949 and held that position until 1968. He received his training while working as a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff and through intense personal study.

The first real growth of the department was seen under Kendrick's leadership. Chief Kenderick started a one-man detective bureau in 1949. The next year brought in a teletype machine so Azusa could communicate with other police agencies.

In 1958 he instituted a Reserve Police Officer Unit to supplement manpower needs. By 1963 there were five black and white police cars, four detective cars, three motorcycles, and one jeep.

The first known Azusa Police Department Annual Report was prepared in 1956. The most notable points of that report were:

• The department consisted of the chief, one captain, one lieutenant, five sergeants, 17 patrolmen, one policewoman, and two motor officers
• The top salary for a police officer was $497 a month.
• There were zero homicides, nine robberies, 28 aggravated assaults, and 155 burglaries
• There was a total of 567 arrests that year.

The 1970s and 1980s

In 1968, Chief Carl Elkins was promoted from Lieutenant to Chief of Police. He led the department through the late 1960s and the 1970s which were challenging times for our society and its police forces, due to a controversy over the war in Vietnam, and the social unrest over concerns such as racial equality and diversity in the workplace. The department moved in 1970 into what its most recent former headquarters at 725 N. Alameda Avenue.

Chief Lloyd Wood was a captain with the El Monte Police Department when he was hired by the City of Azusa in 1981.

Chief Wood's major focus was on crime prevention. In working closely with the community, he created the School Resource Officer position, which placed a police officer on the Azusa High School campus on a full-time basis. He reinstated the motorcycle officer program, which had been idle for several years. He also created the department's first canine officer position and started a Special Weapons and Tactics Team ("SWAT").

Badges Of The AZPD - Continued

Special Officer Silver Star

This Special Officer badge #2 has an L.A. Rub. Stp. Co. hallmark which is an abbreviation for L.A. Rubber Stamp Company which made badges from 1884 to 1935. The city museum has the same style badge with a single digit number which authenticates this badge. It was common during the late 1800’s through the 1960’s to issue badges to “favored businessmen” or “friends of the department”. They are known as “juice” badges and were intended to give the person special favor with the police department. I have a gold eagle top special officer badge and an ID card that belonged to a businessman in Azusa. This badge and ID card is shown in the Eagle Top Badge section.

The Eagle Top Badge

The Patrolman badge #13 has an Entenmann Rovin Co. Pico Rivera hallmark. This hallmark is somewhat unique and is known as the rosette. Rovin and Entenmann companies merged in 1968 and still make badges. This badge was issued by Chief Lloyd Wood. At one time, this badge was worn by reserve police officers, while the regular full-time officers wore the 7 point gold star.  

This badge was worn by officers in the 40's and 50's, as indicated in old photographs. You will notice the word "Patrolman" on this badge.  Just after Chief Wood took over the department, the word was changed to "Police Officer."

There is no known record as to when the department officially changed from the eagle top badge to the 7 point star badge.

Gold Seven Point Star Badge

There is no known record of when the Azusa Police Department changed its badge from the gold eagle top shield to the gold seven point star. The gold star badge was worn by Azusa police personnel until May 1989. There were three different manufacturers of the gold star. They were Entenmann, Entenmann-Rovin, and Sun Badge.

Notice the rank on the badge was changed back to Patrolman when these badges were issued.

City Hall Oval Badge

In May 1989 all police personnel were issued a new oval badge which had a depiction of the city hall in the center panel.

The command staff badges were different from the rest of the badges. The difference between the two is the coloration of the city hall on the command badges. All other badges did not have the coloration. Entenmann Rovin Company was the only manufacturer of these badges. Entenmann Rovin Company used two different hallmarks during this time. The first hallmark which is known as the diamond hallmark, and the other was known as the is rosette hallmark. As a note, when the department changed to the current badge a letter was sent to Entenmann Rovin Company requesting that they destroy the die. This letter also advised Entenmann Rovin not to produce any more of these badges.

Police Building Oval Badge

The Azusa Police Department is currently wearing this badge which was issued in November 2001. As with the two previous oval badges, these badges were designed by Retired Lieutenant Jim Collins.  These badges are only made by the Sun Badge Company. As of this writing the badges are identified by the following insignias or numbers:

• Chief has four stars
• Captain has two stars
• Lieutenant badges are numbered 1 through 10
• Sergeant badges are numbered 1 through 20
• Corporal badges are numbered 1 through 19
• Detective badges are numbered 1 through 28
• Police Officer badges are numbered 201 through 261
• Police Reserve Officer badges are numbered 301 through 312
• Trainee badges are numbered 1 through 12
• Community Service Officer badges are numbered 1 through 10
• Police Aide badges are numbered 1 through 6

Department Patches

The yellow and green patch was used until 1982, at which time the department changed from wearing a tan shirt and green pants for their uniforms, to the style worn today, which is all blue.  Once the blues were worn, the gold and blue patch (right) was worn until about the year 2000, at which time the department went to a subdued silver and blue patch (center).