On the case: Retired Akron police sergeant collects historic badges and memorabilia

Tom Dye’s collection began with Badge 418.

That’s the number he was assigned when he joined the Akron Police Department in December 1969.

Now the walls of his home are lined with tidy rows of historic badges, patches, photos, articles, documents and other memorabilia, displayed on blue felt under glass in framed cases.

And where is Badge 418?

“It’s in a drawer,” Dye said sheepishly. “I’ve just thrown it in a drawer.”

Dye, 74, who retired as sergeant in 2010 after more than 40 years of service, is an Akron police historian and avid badge collector. He searches antique shops, flea markets, collector shows and online auctions for interesting finds, and he makes trades with police officers and other collectors.

His hobby took off about 1977 after he acquired an old APD shield for deputy chief. When he had two items, it officially became a collection.

“I just was interested in the history of Akron since I was a policeman,” he said. “I eventually became interested in collecting badges.”

Dye was the first one in his family to become a cop. He grew up on Wildwood Avenue in West Akron, attending Rankin Elementary, St. Sebastian, Buchtel High School and the University of Akron, and he served in the U.S. Navy aboard a patrol boat during the Vietnam War.

He owns 54 badges, although many others have passed through his hands over the years. He’s constantly upgrading the stock, trading for rarer items and competing against other collectors.

“We definitely compete,” he said.

The most he ever forked out was $4,000 for a Cleveland brass badge from 1866, the year the Cleveland Police Department formed.

“It’s the only known first-issue Cleveland badge,” Dye said. “That’s it. No one knows of another badge like that.”

He didn’t actually pay $4,000, but he traded about $4,000 worth of badges to acquire it, and he keeps it in a display case with three other old badges from Cleveland.

Dye’s current favorite in the collection is a first-issue Akron badge from 1872, which he bought online from a California dealer for $1,600. The Akron Police Department had to rewrite its history after Dye’s research proved that the squad formed in 1872, not 1898 as previously believed.

Retired for more than a decade, Dye still does a lot of detective work for his hobby.

When he acquired a 19th century cabinet photo of an Akron officer, he inspected it with a magnifying glass and discovered the cop wore Badge 9. The uniform was one that the police department adopted Sept. 25, 1882, which corresponded with the year on the back of the picture.

The image alone was a treasure.

“Cabinet photos of policemen are very rare because they didn’t make any money back then,” Dye said. “They couldn’t afford it.”

After scouring City Council minutes, Dye identified the officer as George Jusell, a German immigrant who wore Badge 9 and walked the West Hill beat. Dye examined a group photo of Akron officers from 1882 and spotted Jusell in the front row.

Accompanying Jusell’s portrait was a 19th century business card for South Howard Street clothier Morris Price in Akron. Scrawled on the back are the words: “Order uniform.”

“I didn’t know if he wrote it or not, so I went to the courthouse and got his marriage certificate and compared his signature with that writing,” Dye said. “That confirmed it was him.”

Local historians now know where Akron police officers bought their uniforms in the late 1800s.

Dye pointed out several items of interest in his collection. They’re in such good condition that they look new despite many being more than a century old.

“That’s a night police badge,” he said. “It’s actually from before there was a police department. They were called night police and they got $2 a night.”

“That lieutenant’s badge has a very rare state seal. See? The arrows are above the sun.”

“That’s a first-issue sergeant’s badge. It’s very rare. It’s from 1900.”

“This one’s an interesting badge. It’s a Canton jeweler-made badge, hand-engraved, from 1856.”

Dye’s most recent addition is an 1888 constable badge from Akron Township. There’s also a constable’s badge from Kenmore, a separate village until merging with Akron in 1929. There’s a first-issue Akron policewoman’s badge from the late 1930s.

There’s an Akron Police Reserve patch from World War II when the city had a shortage of officers. There’s an Akron Workhouse badge and a key to a cell from the old slammer on Cuyahoga Street.

Ironically, Dye’s all-time favorite, Badge 45, is one that he gave away.

“It was too special to keep,” he said.

Dye bought the badge from a collector and didn’t know anything about it until his research traced it back to Akron Patrolman George Werne. The 32-year-old officer was shot to death March 9, 1919, while searching three suspects for concealed weapons at the Hickory Street railroad crossing.

Deciding the badge should go to the family, Dye tracked down Werne’s granddaughter and urged her to attend a 2009 memorial service for Akron’s fallen officers. He didn’t mention the badge.

When Werne’s name was called at the ceremony, his granddaughter stood and Chief Craig Gilbride presented her with the heirloom — much to her surprise and gratitude.

“So it’s my favorite badge because I was able to return it to his granddaughter 90 years after he was killed in the line of duty,” Dye said.

Dye has given away a lot of badges and photos. The Akron Police Museum and Cleveland Police Museum have some of his donations on display. He gave a marshal’s badge to Boston Heights and a constable’s badge to Macedonia. When retired Akron officer Melvin Bates passed away, Dye went to the funeral and gave Bates’ badge to his eldest son.

He ordered a new headstone from Veterans Affairs for Hughlin H. Harrison, a Civil War captain who served as police chief from 1897 to 1900. The new marker was dedicated in 2008 at East Akron Cemetery. The old one is at the Akron Police Museum.

The sergeant’s community service didn’t end with retirement. With the help of Beacon Journal columnist Jewell Cardwell, Dye raised funds to donate free rides for seven years to children aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s Polar Express. He’s also volunteered with Hattie Larlham and supervised special events for Akron, including LeBron James’ King for Kids Bike-A-Thon, the Akron Marathon and Bridgestone golf tournament.

For anyone thinking about starting a badge collection, it won’t be easy. The best ones are taken.

“It’s almost too late now,” Dye said. “Most of these badges are one of a kind.”

Might he bequeath his collection to the Akron Police Museum?

“Probably someday,” he said. “That’s the problem with collecting. They’re so rare and special, what do you do with them?”

For now, he just enjoys hunting for memorabilia and preserving local history.

And maybe, just maybe, he’ll take Badge 418 out of that drawer.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

More: Geauga Lake revisited: Vintage photos of lost amusement park

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Retired Akron police sergeant shows off badge collection