Covington Police go back to badges used in 1900s

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Covington Police are sporting new badges that replicate those worn in the 1900s.

Former Kenton County Jailer Jim Knauf said he was clearing out his belongings recently when he came across a Covington Police badge from the beginning of last century.

He passed it along to Covington Police Assistant Chief Spike Jones, who found that the company that had manufactured the badge not only was still around but still had the hand-cut dies used to stamp it.

Sgt. Brian Valenti, president of Covington Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No.1, said officers wanted to go back to a badge that was uniquely theirs. It features Covington's seal with the department's four values from its mission statement engraved on the back.

Since 1973, Covington had used a generic badge that a lot of departments across the United States use, with Kentucky's seal glued in the center.