The
Fraternal Order of Police is the world's largest organization of law enforcement officers, with more than 325,000 members in more than 2,100
lodges. A ride on a Pittsburgh Railways trolley car cost a nickel, you could enjoy a silent movie for a dime
and radio was unheard of. If your parents had a telephone it probably was a party line which you shared with someone else. The Blue Laws were strictly obeyed and a lady only went into a saloon when it had a back room with a separate entrance. If
you owned motor car it was jacked up in the garage all winter. The article could go on and on but we are leading up to something dearer to our heart.
In 1915, the life of a policeman was bleak. In many communities they were forced to work 12 hour days,
365 days a year. Police Officers did not like this, but there was little they could do to change their working conditions. There were no organizations to make their voice heard, no other means to make their grievances
known.This soon changed thanks to the courage and wisdom of two Pittsburgh patrol officers. Martin Toole and Delbert Nagle knew they must first organize police officers, like other labor interests, if they were to be successful in making life better for
themselves and their fellow police officers. They and 21 others who were willing to take a chance met on May 14, 1915 at 9:AM, and held the first meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police in Pittsburgh's Wabash Building Ferry Street and Liberty Avenue. They formed Fort Pitt Lodge #1. They decided on this name due to the anti-union sentiment of the time. Some members were
displeased with "United Association of Police" because that name sounded too much like a Union, and Union sounded too antagonistic." During the debate, Nagle moved the organization be known as the Fraternal Order of Police. The motion carried. Police Superintendent Noble Matthews learned of the meeting that afternoon and was furious. He threatened to sharpen his ax but it was a waste of his time and no doubt played havoc
with his blood pressure. Twenty-three was adopted
as the password for the group. This was in recognition of the twenty-three men
who realized that they were sticking their necks out. They were determined
to have a police organization regardless of the consequences.However, there was
no mistaking their intentions. As they told their city mayor, Joe Armstrong,
the FOP would be the means "to bring our grievances before the Mayor or
Council and have many things adjusted that we are unable to present in any
other way . . . we could get many things through our legislature that our
Council will not, or cannot give us."The
Mayor was assured the Order was not a union and that, in fact, "the word
strike is ruled out completely because we who are
obligated to protect life and property will see that obligation fulfilled
regardless of all else. At a meeting, Wednesday, November 17, 1915, Attorney Robert G. Woodside read the
Charter granted earlier that day by Judge Thomas J. Ford of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In conclusion, the self-appointed committee related that if police
organizations could span throughout the entire state, we could get many things through our legislation that our council will not, or cannot give us."Immediately plans were formulated to lobby City Council for a reduction of the 365-day work
schedule. Council realized that action must be taken on the F.O.P.’s complaint and passed an ordinance on Monday, October 9, 1916, giving police
officers two days off each month with pay. Other police departments took notice and they began to organize under Pittsburgh’s Leadership. At the 5th Annual National Convention held August 15-18, 1921, at Reading, Pennsylvania, Joseph G.
Armstrong was introduced to the assembled body as the ex-Mayor of Pittsburgh who is the father of the Fraternal Order of Police. In these early months of the Order, Nagle decided "we should have some kind of
an insignia, a button... through which brother members of the future could identify each other even though they be separated by many states." He took
his idea to an artist, Mr. H.J. Garvey, whose sketch of the emblem was soon adopted as the official sign of the F.O.P. Garvey's sketch, which was later
registered with the U.S. Patent Office in 1948, symbolizes authority, vigilance, friendship, and the bond of mutuality between members, and the seal of Fort Pitt, in remembrance of the
Orders origination.By early 1917, membership in Pittsburgh grew to 1,800. During that summer, Nagle and Toole led in the expansion
throughout their state. On Oct. 15-17, the first National Convention was held in Pittsburgh. At this inaugural gathering, the Grand Lodge was established and
placed with the authority of issuing charters to subordinate lodges. A Constitution and Bylaws were drafted, and four members of lodges other than Fort
Pitt were added as officers of this first Grand Lodge. With both the formation of the Grand Lodge and the secure foundation established
in Pennsylvania, the Order continued its expansion in the 1920s. The F.O.P. became strong in both Ohio and Indiana. By 1929, growth brought about the need of a National Organizer, which John Kuespert was elected on Aug.
15.In the 1930s, three more states were added including West Virginia, Michigan, and Kentucky. Expansion was not the only aspect of accomplishment in the
'30s. On Aug. 29, 1933, the order passed "the most important resolution of its first quarter century.The minutes read: "...that a committee of five
be appointed to from state organizations."By the time the 25th anniversary of the F.O.P. took place in 1940, a Grand Lodge had come into being, approximately 200 lodges had been chartered, and 23 annual conventions held.Not only did the F.O.P. expand with new Lodges, but on Sept. 19, 1941 a motion that The Grand Lodge grant a charter to
the Ladies passed unanimously. The ladies were those women who in accordance with their motto of, "We do not let him walk alone," desired to begin a National
Ladies Auxiliary.
In the 1940s and '50s the Order
continued to expand with lodges in South Dakota, Arizona, Rhode Island, New
Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, North
and South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia.
And so it began, a tradition of police
officers representing police officers. The Fraternal Order of Police was given life by two dedicated police
officers determined to better their profession and those who choose to protect
and serve our communities, our states, and our country. It was not long
afterward that Mayor Armstrong was congratulating the Fraternal Order of Police
for their "strong influence in the legislatures in various states, . . .their
considerate and charitable efforts" on behalf of the officers in need and for
the FOP's "efforts at increasing the public confidence toward the police to the
benefit of the peace, as well as the public."
From that small beginning the Fraternal Order
of Police began growing steadily. In 1955, the idea of a National Organization
of Police Officers came about. Today, the tradition that was first envisioned
over 91 years ago, lives on with nearly 2,100 local lodges and 321,000 members
in the United States. The Fraternal Order of Police has become the largest
professional police organization in the country. The FOP continues to grow
because we have been true to the tradition and continued to build on it. The
Fraternal Order of Police are proud professionals working on behalf of law
enforcement officers from all ranks and levels of government.As the Order continued into
the late '70s, its level of national recognition continued to increase with the
opening of an office just four blocks from the White House and only 10 blocks
from the Capitol Hill. The F.O.P. had truly established itself in our nation's
Capitol. The office would serve not only as a clearing house for F.O.P.
concerns from all over the country, but would fulfill the need of influencing
national legislation and federal programs which affect the police.
The Order's accomplishments in
Washington, D.C. were extended on Sept. 29, 1976 when President Gerald Ford
signed into law H.R. 366, otherwise known as the $50,000 Survivorship Bill. This
law, which was conceived 15 years earlier at the 35th Biennial National F.O.P.
Conference, provides that the dependent of any police officer who dies of an
injury sustained in the line of duty will receive a lump sum of $50,000.
As the F.O.P. continued to develop as
an organization, many legislative goals were also fulfilled. In 1985 the Order
held firm in its support of the Bill HR-4, which regulates the manufacture,
importation, and the sale of armor-piercing ammunition. It was the F.O.P.'s
position that what good comes of banning the manufacture and importation if we
can't prevent the sale of the "cop killer" ammunition. The eventual passage of
the Bill was called the biggest legislative victory in years for law
enforcement.
A book entitled "The Fraternal Order of Police, 1915-1976: A History" by Justin E. Walsh, Ph.D., was first published in 1977. The book was reprinted in 2001 with a new foreword by Past National President Gilbert Gallegos. The reprinted book is available to FOP members by calling the Grand Lodge at 615.399.0900. The Library of Congress Catalog Card Number is 77-89730.
