Police Badges Surround Herriman City Hall During National Police Week

HERRIMAN, Utah — Playgrounds seem to get louder this time of year.

And the park outside Herriman City Hall is where you’ll often find Rachelle Carney and her two young sons.

“Pretty often. When it’s warm enough,” she said, while helping one of her sons get onto a piece of playground equipment. “I love this park. It’s just big, it’s open… it just feels welcoming.”

For all the times they’ve been here, though, on Wednesday the park looked a little different

Throughout the park, tied around trees with blue ribbon, are yellow badges.

“I did notice them. I didn’t see what they were until people started taking pictures of them,” said Carney.

On those badges are the names of law enforcement officers and K9’s in Utah who have been killed in the line of duty.

“There are 151 badges,” said Herriman Police Lt. Cody Stromberg. “145 for the officers who were killed and 6 for the K9’s who were killed.”

The badges are to celebrate National Police Week as well as the sacrifice those officers made.

“It’s an emotional experience, to be honest with you. It’s something that you don’t see every day. We know that our community appreciates us,” said Lt. Stromberg.

Any law enforcement officer will tell you it’s a tough job and it seems to be getting tougher all the time.

Which is why, little tokens of appreciation like these badges, mean a lot.

“It’s something that we’re quite proud of,” said Lt. Stromberg.

City workers and a wives of police officers group put up the badges and tied the ribbons.

Carney said her two boys love seeing police in their neighborhood because one officer lives across the street from them.

“Well, they love police cars,” said Carney with a laugh.

Seeing the badges is a way for her to tell her kids about the officers in those police cars.

“They have earned the honor to be honored,” she said.

They have also earned the right to never be forgotten.