Self-Fulfilling

Recently, a Jersey City police officer suffered a severe concussion after being struck by a drunk driver.

The officer and his partner were responding to a burglar alarm when a passing car struck the officer as he walked around his patrol car.

The driver then sped away, running a red light in the process, until police later spotted the car and apprehended the driver.

A driver whose given first name proved to be "Tequila."

Parents, when you name your child "Tequila," you are pretty much defining that child’s destiny.

This is not to suggest that naming your child "Einstein" will necessarily lead to a Nobel Prize, but what goals are you setting with a name like "Tequila?"

A Breathalyzer test revealed that Tequila’s blood alcohol level was .13, significantly greater than the legal limit of .08.

Tequila's 7-year-old daughter was in the back seat of the car. The name of the child has not been reported, but "Margarita" would be an improvement.

Braxmar Badges

The Charles G. Braxmar Company was founded in 1879 and until being acquired by V.H. Blackinton at the beginning of the 21st century was located in New York City.

The image above is from a Braxton catalog, circa 1927.

V.H. Blackinton, itself with roots extending back to 1852, acquired the Braxmar company and continues to offer the Braxmar line. Certain Braxmar products continue to be available, while others have been superceded by corresponding Blackinton items.

Braxmar sold direct to public safety agencies, and so for several years following the acquisition Blackinton continued to accept direct orders for Braxmar products. But this practice has now been phased out, and all orders must be processed through an authorized Blackinton dealer.

The Badge Company of New Jersey is, of course, a direct distributor for all Blackinton products, so whether you are trying to match an old Braxmar badge or you simply want to order from Blackinton’s extensive line of badges and insignia, we can make the process easy.

Officer Christopher Matlosz

It has been an eventful few days for police in New Jersey. On Friday, Lakewood officer Christopher Matlosz was killed – executed is a better word – while seated in his patrol car, having stopped to speak with a pedestrian.

On Sunday, police arrested the individual that they identified as the shooter.

On the one hand, it is satisfying to know that this individual has been apprehended and will be brought to justice.

On the other hand, we have to agree with words attributed to State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes: "There is no joy in catching an accused cop killer.”

Officer Matlosz was not married, but he was engaged. The photo shows him and his fiancee, Kelly Walsifer, smiling widely.

Here at the Badge Company, we are sensitive to the death of a police officer, not only because it is a tragedy for the families and communities, but also because so often the officer works for an agency that we serve. We hear the anguish in the voices of their colleagues. Frequently, we are asked to prepare commemorative badges used in memorial ceremonies. We are honored to provide this service, but it only makes the sense of loss even more compelling.

To Serve You Better

Over the next few days, we are moving our web site and related online files to a new and much larger server system which became operational this week.

The new servers will allow us to offer a variety of new web-based features, although don’t expect everything to happen all at once. We are still relatively new to the world of online services, and so we will be adding new features as time goes by.

Most of the changeover will happen seamlessly, without any visible evidence. However, some aspects of this move may take us offline, briefly, over the weekend of January 8-9. Don’t worry, we’ll be back shortly.

By the way, we don’t do this in-house. Our IT needs are provided with knowledgeable service and prompt attention by the Round Mountain Group ( http://www.roundmountaingroup.com ) which has helped us move from being a company with no web presence only a few years ago to a firm that embraces the internet and what it has to offer. If you do not know where to turn for web services, we can recommend the Round Mountain Group without hesitation.

Starting a Life of Crime

Police in Jersey City responded last week to a call from the victim of an attempted carjacking.

However, the carjacking was thwarted by the fact that the car in question had a dead battery and the owner was standing next to it with jumper cables in his hands, trying to obtain a jump-start.

Two bright criminals commandeered the victim’s keys and got into his vehicle. They then tried to start the car "with negative results," according to the police report.

Ya gotta love the efficient wording of police reports.

The unsuccessful duo then took off... perhaps looking for a victim whose car was not so obviously broken down.

"Rest" Room

Police in North Bergen used bolt cutters to free a 61-year-old man who was, police say, drunk and who somehow found himself locked in portable toilet recently.

According to published reports, the man was in the "Johnny on the Spot" toilet for an indeterminate period of time, perhaps overnight.

The porta-potty was locked for transport around 7:40 a.m by Department of Public Works employees who were cleaning up the morning after the annual Winter Fest Parade.

Minutes later, a pedestrian walking nearby heard a call for help from the porta-potty. Police, Rescue and Fire officials responded to the scene.

It was reported that the township is now instructing employees that they are supposed to open the door and look inside, before padlocking a porta-potty.

Good idea.

Urine Trouble, Fella!

As most people know, urinating in public is against the law. Urinating on a police car in public is not only against the law, it is also colossally dumb.

In the wee hours of November 26, police in Hackettstown had responded to an incident along Main Street when they observed a 20-year-old man relieving himself on the police car.

The act earned the guy an arrest and a pending court appearance.