Behind the badge

In May of 1988, police officers Larry Ingersoll and Mark Foote of the Gloucester (Mass.) Police Department volunteered for annual duty placing memorial flags on the graves of deceased officers. Their curiosity got the best of them and they began what turned out to be a 15 year project that chronicled the history of the department from the 1600's through the present.

Along the way they found and met many families and relatives of deceased officers while keeping up acquaintances with present and former officers. Numerous hours were spent in the local library scanning and reading microfilm of the local paper which began publishing in 1888. Articles concerning the department were copied and filed after being entered into computer. Old hand written log books from the 1800's were read as well as articles in other local papers that were published in the 1800's. Hand written Selectmen's records had to be also read to get information for the early years of the Town of Gloucester which became a city in 1874. They were able to trace the beginnings of local policing from the first mention of an officer in 1799, through the formal organization of the department in 1874.

After gathering all of this information, they had to find a way to get it published. It took nearly an additional year but finally Behind the Badge, the History of the Gloucester Police Department was published by Dogtown Books, a local publisher, in early 2004. There was so much information, that the first book had to be volume one of a three volume set. The first book covers the years up to 1939 and follows the department from non-paid officers into the motor age and through prohibition. Quality of the book was important as it will be a keepsake as there has never been any written history done of the department. The book is a hardcover edition of nearly 375 pages and also included biographies of every officer who served during those years. This will be helpful to families of officers tracing their roots. There are numerous photos throughout the book as well.

Reviews have stated that the book contains tantalizing pieces of larger tales, many of the details lost to time, as well as administrative details about the department in those early years, such as salaries, the appointment process and modernizing of equipment that could have been reports from recent City Council meetings. Noticeable is the history of names that have been associated with the department for over one hundred years, but not noticeable are the names of the accused as they have been left out of the book, although one of the authors mentioned that even the criminals had a long bloodline of ancestry. Only information that was in the public record was used to chronicle the stories.

The authors believe that everyone should know who police officers were and current officers should know who came before them. For the past sixteen years, these officers have been in Ingersoll's and Foote's lives and now they can be in everyone else's also. Volume two is scheduled to be released in August of 2004. All profits from the book will be donated to local organizations that are involved with history.

Behind the Badge: Volume 1
$25 Dollars

Behind the Badge: Volume 2
$25 Dollars

 

Behind the Badge: Volume 3
$25 Dollars

Gpd Throw Blanket
$55 Dollars

 

Related resources

To purchase products listed contact either Officer Mark Foote or Larry Ingersoll at Police Headquarters (978)283-1212

• Mark works the 4pm-12am shift.
• Larry works the 8am-4pm shift.