Updated BPD badge pays homage to city’s history. Take a look at some previous versions
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Bellingham Police have a new look, including a redesigned logo and badges that feature the 1892 Old City Hall, one of the city’s most recognizable buildings.
Badges with the new image hit the streets Nov. 1, 2023, and officers were gradually getting new badges to replace the previous badge, which was an eagle perched atop a shield with the image of George Washington. Those generic-looking badges had been in use since the 1950s, the department said in a statement.
“(The old badge) could be any other police agency. That is a very standard badge design. (The Old City Hall) is an iconic building. It says ‘Bellingham,’ ” Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig told The Bellingham Herald.
Mertzig said she and the department’s Uniform Committee wanted a new look, something that was unique to the City of Subdued Excitement.
“Our badges are symbolically significant. A badge is interchangeable with the term ‘shield,’ a symbol of protection. It represents a willingness to sacrifice your own safety to protect the community from harm. It is a symbol of pride, honor, respect and safety,” Mertzig said in a statement announcing the new design. “When an officer receives their badge for the first time, it is pinned over their heart by a loved one. Symbolic of their oath to protect their community but also, the sacrifice their loved one is making as they raise their hand to be put into harm’s way.”
Many police departments around the country have badges that pay homage to their city. Los Angeles does. And so does the police department of Bellingham, Mass.
“For institutional security, and for our department identity, we felt it was past due time to honor the community in which we work,” said Det. Travis Hauri, a member of the Uniform Committee.
Choosing Old City Hall honors both the city of Bellingham and its police department.
Old City Hall, now the Whatcom Museum, was the first home for the new city of Bellingham after it was formed in 1903 from the cities of Fairhaven, Sehome, New Whatcom and Bellingham. That building housed the new city’s police department, and its jail was in the basement.
In addition to the new gold badges, officers now have the option of wearing a muted badge with a velcro backing that won’t reflect light and reveal their position if they are trying to stay concealed in a crisis situation.
A new logo, too
To go along with the new badge, a Bellingham officer with graphic arts training designed a new logo for the department’s patrol cars, social media and other uses. It retains elements of the department’s uniform shoulder patch but is more simple and recognizable, officer Jon Knutson said.
“We realize that nowadays our brand identity matters, so we felt it was necessary to address that times have changed and we’re living in a very visual world,” Knutson said in a video posted on the department’s Facebook page.
“We want to be recognizable and have a consistent image for the same reason that most businesses or organizations do. With that in mind, I set out to design a log that could be used across multiple platforms,” he said.
Knutzen said the new logo didn’t cost the city a dime because he designed it between assignments while he was on duty.
