Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Memorial
Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland
Marker Inscription
Baltimore Police Department Established 1784 By An Act of the Maryland Legislature This living memorial is dedicated by the Department to all members, past and present, who have served with honor, dedication, and loyalty, many of whom have made the supre… transcription continues on the marker
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The Story
In the years just after American independence, the fast-growing port of Baltimore needed organized ways to keep order along its wharves and crowded streets, and the inscription traces the department's founding to an act of the Maryland Legislature in 1784. That makes it one of the earliest formal municipal police forces in the young United States. Erected by the department as a "living memorial," the monument honors generations of officers who served the city, including those who died in the line of duty.
Why it matters
Baltimore's is among the oldest municipal police organizations in the country, and the memorial marks a long American tradition of civic public service and sacrifice in the nation's growing cities.
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