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9/11/01
In memory of those who paid the
ultimate price.
Legislative Updates
Remember the Blood of Heroes...
Learn about our Flag
The FOP Star
The Officer Down
Memorial Page Remembers . . .
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FRATERNAL
ORDER OF POLICE
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
didn't like it, but there was little they could do to change their
working conditions. There were no organizations to make their voices
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, and held the first meeting of
the Fraternal Order of Police. They formed Fort Pitt Lodge #1. They
decided on this name due to the anti-union sentiment of the time.
However, there was no mistaking their intentions. As they told their
city mayor, Joe Armstrong, the FOP would be the means "to bring our
aggrievances 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."
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 85 years ago lives on with more than 2,100 local
lodges and nearly 300,000 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.
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 foreward 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.
©1997-2002 Fraternal Order of Police, Grand Lodge |
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